Lost Descendant
by NicholasFlamelFan
Summary: Tyler's cousin comes to Mystic Falls, having run away from her home in Florida because of an incident. She eventually meets Damon who takes an interest in her. There's only one problem. Thea doesn't talk. What is this incident and will Damon or her family be able to help her? Mentions of Adult Themes. See Author's Note at the bottom of the first chapter. Cover by Brookie Twiling
1. Chapter 1

**I'm posting this now since I thought I would see about the response this gets. Since there are only very few chapters of Tribrid Salvatore left, I don't think this is too soon. Anyway, I might wait to post more until I actually finish Tribrid but we'll see how it goes. **

**I hope you like this. Also, the cover (like most of the covers I have) was made by Brookie Twiling. I constantly forget to shout you out and that's my bad but I really do appreciate everything you did for me so far. So, thank you again.**

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

Thea looked out of her bedroom window silently, waiting for her father's truck to leave. Ever since Mason started to hang out with Jules and her… pack, they were the most important thing in his life along with his girlfriend. Thea didn't really like Kathy, the older woman didn't feel right somehow. Mason practically forgot that Thea existed most of the time and he didn't even notice when she stopped talking altogether. The only person who was taking an interest in her was Brady. The older werewolf scared her… He was so aggressive and hurt her more often than not. That's why – as soon as Mason was gone – the sixteen-year-old ran for her bed. She pulled out the bag she had packed some time ago and quickly threw in some more things. There weren't many things that she wanted to take. Only a few changes of clothes, her laptop along with the school stuff she had, the stuffed animal that her mother had bought for her before she was born and a photo album.

Before leaving the room, Thea looked around one last time, a tear falling from her face as she remembered all the fun she had with her dad when she was younger. He had been the most amazing father that she could have wished for but now? Now he was only interested in being with his friends, shoving his daughter aside for it. Maybe he was trying to make up for lost time since he had to change diapers and take care of a newborn instead of partying when he was younger.

A hand trailed over the furniture as she passed it, smiling as the memories played inside of her head. Thea had been thinking about running away ever since Brady started to… She shook herself, trying to get the images out of her head. She wouldn't let that weigh her down anymore. This was for herself… For once, Thea was going to be selfish and do something that felt right to her. She had always tried to be a good child for her father because she knew that he was struggling. With the gene, with the loss of her mother and with the fact that his brother didn't want to see him anymore. He had enough on his plate without adding a teenager with more issues than she was worth.

"I'm sorry, daddy," Thea mouthed, placing the letter she had written down on the coffee table in the living room before leaving the house. She had a long way to go and no clear destination… Thea had been thinking of going to her cousin in Mystic Falls but she wasn't sure whether they would send her straight back here. She hadn't seen Tyler or her aunt and uncle in over five years and she was scared that they wouldn't want her to be there. A part of her was scared that she would be sent right back to her father whether it be by the police or by her family but Thea was willing to take the risk. Anything to get away from… him. Thankfully, she was going to online school since she had gotten bullied pretty badly, so no one would know that she was gone until her father got back home… Whenever that was. To be honest, Thea would rather go to jail than to spend more time around the man who was making her life miserable.

* * *

It took her over a day but she finally made it. After six busses and a rather long hike from Charlottesville to Mystic Falls, Thea was exhausted and dirty but she felt freer than she had in months.

The sixteen-year-old licked her lips nervously, looking around the town she had visited so many years ago. Back then, the girl had come here every summer to spend time with her other family. She had no idea what happened but five years ago, Mason had a falling out with his brother about something and they never went back again. Mystic Falls still looked mostly the same. The Grill was still there and the Town Hall was the same glaring white that she was used to. Some stores seemed to have closed and others opened but it was nothing that she noticed too much. Thea swallowed nervously, quietly opening the door to the Grill. She froze when she saw how many people were in here. There were a lot of students which wasn't surprising, seeing as it was already around four in the afternoon.

On the other side of the Grill, Matt looked up at the door and blinked in surprise. He leaned forward, getting Tyler's attention "Hey, isn't that your cousin?"

"What?" the Lockwood boy frowned, turning around to look at the girl Matt had seen. He got up immediately walking over to Thea who was still standing by the door awkwardly "Thea? What are you doing here?" The sixteen-year-old jumped, whirling to face the voice she heard. She relaxed a little, seeing her cousin standing in front of her. He was taller than she remembered but that was to be expected and he looked even more like her Uncle Richard. Tears welled up in Thea's eyes and she threw herself into his arms, hiding her face in his chest "Hey," he murmured, trying to calm the younger girl down. When that wouldn't work, he whipped out one of the childhood nicknames he had given her when they were younger "It's alright, Kitten. Come on." Tyler picked up the bag his cousin had dropped and lead her over to the booth Matt was still in. He prodded her onto the bench, sitting down next to her "You remember Matt, don't you?"

Thea looked up, her eyes were red from crying and smiled shyly. She did remember Matt but not very well. They had never spent too much time together as she had always been shy and preferred to stick to Tyler's side as much as possible.

"Kitten, what are you doing here?" Tyler asked, sliding his coke and food over to his little cousin. Thea lowered her head, not looking at either of the boys. She didn't want to tell them about running away. As soon as Tyler knew, she was sure Uncle Richard would as well "Thea, does Uncle Mason know you're here?"

Matt looked at the girl who was fiddling with one of the fries with worry. They might not have been close but Tyler was his best friend. The fact that Thea had stopped visiting them hurt the other boy more than he would admit "Tyler… I think you should take her home. She looks tired."

"Do you mind?" Tyler questioned "I know we said we'd hang but…"

"Dude, I get it," Matt cut him off "Family is more important. I hope to see you again soon, Thea." She waved at him as Tyler placed down the money for his food and lead her out of the building.

Tyler glanced at his cousin out of the corner of his eyes "Thea, are you sure you're alright? Can you tell me what happened?" When he didn't get an answer, he sighed, his temper almost getting the best of him. The only reason why he tried to calm down was because the girl looked ready to pass out "You know that I can't help you if you won't tell me anything."

Thea twisted her sweater in her hands. She didn't know what to do. How would you explain that you didn't talk to the family you haven't seen in years? The sixteen-year-old made a split decision and pulled out the notebook she had gotten for writing down what she wanted to say. She scribbled down something and showed it to Tyler who had slowed down to read over the neat words '**I don't talk.**'

"Wait. Since when? You were talking the last time you were here," Tyler frowned, looking over at Thea. He caught the shrug and hummed. This was getting more and more complicated and – no matter how bad that sounded – he was glad that his parents would take care of it. The seventeen-year-old had no idea what to do. This girl wasn't the Thea he had known and that was freaking him out a little bit. Another ten minutes later, the two pulled up to the Lockwood Mansion. Tyler grabbed Thea's bag from the backseat and watched as she carefully slipped out of the car "Mom?"

"Tyler?" Carol frowned "I thought you were going to the Grill with Matt." She walked out of the living room and froze when she saw the girl who was standing half-hidden behind her son "Thea? What are you doing here, sweetheart?"

Thea looked up at her aunt for a second before her eyes lowered to the ground again. Her hand reached out to grasp Tyler's arm in a tight grip. The older boy looked down at her and then at his hand "What is this about, kitten? It's just mom." His cousin looked up at him, the uneasiness in her eyes almost breaking his heart "How about you go up and rest? I'm sure we can all talk about this later."

"Tyler…" Carol started.

The seventeen-year-old shook his head "I'll tell you what I know but I think Thea should rest for a bit. At least until dad is back."

Carol sighed and smiled at his niece "You do look tired, honey. Go and bring her bag up, Tyler. I'll wait in the living room."

"Come on, Thea," Tyler murmured, ushering his cousin up the stairs and to the room she had occupied the last time she had been here "The bathroom is through here. I'll tell mom what I know but… I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Thea sniffed and nodded, raising her hand to her mouth to sign '**Thank you.**'

"What does that mean?" the older of the cousins tilted his head curiously.

Since she was ready to fall asleep at any moment, she just mouthed '_Thank you_' as clearly as she could.

"How do you say 'You're welcome'?" Thea's eyes lit up with the smile that crossed her face. It was the first time since she had arrived that Tyler had seen her smile a smile that actually reached her eyes. She extended her hand with her palm up, bringing it to her chest in an arch. Tyler repeated the gesture sloppily and huffed "This is harder than I thought…" He shook his head "I guess you'll just have to teach me then, will you?"

Thea threw herself into her cousin's arms. No one had ever wanted to learn ASL just for her. Her father wasn't around often enough to notice that she really stopped talking and no one else really cared. In school, she could just write in the chat and get around talking most of the time. The teachers at her online school were very accommodating in that aspect and she was glad that she had the opportunity to go there.

**WARNINGS: This story has mentions of neglect, rape and sexual abuse. There will be nothing graphic but if you don't like these topics, then please don't read this story. **

**Nick**


	2. Chapter 2

**I know I said I wouldn't update this until I finished Tribrid but since I haven't really updated, I feel bad. There's been a lot of family drama and I didn't have time to write anything, so here you go.**

**In case you didn't notice in the previous chapter this has mentions of RAPE and SEXUAL ABUSE and NEGLECT... Just so you know. It stretches through the whole story but nothing graphic. I just wanted to warn you guys.**

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

"So, tell me what's going on," Carol demanded as soon as Tyler entered the living room after showing Thea to her room.

Tyler sighed, sinking onto the couch across from his mother "I don't know much… She – Thea showed up at the Grill."

"Did she tell you anything?" the Mayor's wife questioned "Does her father know that she's here?"

"I don't think he does," Tyler murmured "I asked her but she didn't say. In fact, she didn't say anything."

Carol frowned "What do you mean?"

"She never once talked, mom," he whispered "Not with me, not with Matt."

"I'm going to call Richard. I think this needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later," Carol sighed "Especially if Mason doesn't know that she's here."

Tyler watched his mother walk out of the room worriedly. He wasn't sure what his father was going to do once he found out that Thea was here. His Uncle Mason wasn't awfully close to them, not since he moved to Florida with Thea and just after that, they completely cut contact. Tyler took his role as older cousin quite seriously and despite being annoyed by Thea's clingy nature when she was younger, he really found himself missing the girl these past few years. She had changed so much and no longer acted like the kid he remembered.

"He's on his way," Carol told him when she walked back into the room.

"Mom, what do you think happened?" Tyler asked quietly.

His mother ran a hand through her styled hair "I don't know, honey. I really don't but it has to be something bad for her to come here all the way from Florida."

Tyler chewed on his lip "I'm not sure I want to know," he shook his head "I think I'll go check on Thea. Make sure that she's alright. Call me when dad gets home." With that, he stood up, walking back up the stairs and back to the room his baby cousin was in. As soon as he was close to the door, he heard muted noises "Thea?" he called, knocking on the door. When he didn't get an answer, he hesitatingly peaked into the room only to see the sixteen-year-old sitting on the bed with tear tracks down her face. He immediately walked over, pulling her into his arms "Shh. It's alright. Everything will be okay. We'll figure something out, yeah?"

Thea burrowed closer to the older boy, liking the feel of his arms around her. It had been way too long since anyone held her like this just to comfort her. After a couple of minutes of them just sitting there, she reached behind her, trying to grab the notebook and the pen that she put on the nightstand earlier '**I'm scared, Ty. What if they send me back?**'

"What happened, Thea? What is so bad that you don't want to go back?" the older of the two questioned.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, tapping the pen on the page. She really didn't want to tell him what… he did to her but she was sure that Uncle Richard would want to know as well '**Dad doesn't care. He's out all day and… I just – I can't, Tyler. I just don't want to stay there anymore.**'

Tyler tilted his head, narrowing his eyes "He leaves you on your own? Do you at least have a way to contact him?"

'**He doesn't even know that I stopped talking.**' Thea snorted, shaking her head with a sad smile '**Dad hasn't been around for a long time and… I'm not sure I even want him to be anymore.**'

"Is it really that bad?" Tyler questioned. He looked down at the mop of light brown hair and hissed when she nodded. The older boy drew her into his arms again, resting his head on hers "I'm sure mom and dad will figure something out, alright? You're our family and family sticks up for each other." Thea sighed silently, closing her eyes while leaning against Tyler with more of her weight. She really was tired but sleep evaded her. The youngest Lockwood couldn't help but be scared of her Uncle's decision. If he said that she had to go back… She wouldn't. There was no way she wanted to go back to being Brady's – Brady's… No, she wouldn't go back.

* * *

A few hours later, Mayor Lockwood walked through the front door with a worried frown on his face. When Carol called him earlier, telling him they had a surprise visitor, he hadn't been sure what to make of it. Thea – his brother's daughter had shown up out of the blue and Richard knew that his wife was worried for the sixteen-year-old. It was highly unusual for the girl to do something without telling her father but then again, he had missed several years of her life. Mason had stopped visiting and contacting his older brother after their falling out. The Mayor was aware of the curse that was placed on his family line and he wanted nothing to do with it. When he found out that Mason had triggered the gene… Well, the following conversation hadn't been pleasant.

"Richard," Carol sighed, seeing her husband enter the living room. The man looked around, trying to see whether his niece was in the room as well but Carol shook her head "Thea is upstairs with Tyler. The poor girl looked ready to pass out from exhaustion earlier."

"What happened?" Richard questioned "Has she told you anything?"

His wife closed her eyes "No. Tyler mentioned that Mason might not be aware of her being here but other than that… Nothing. I'm worried, darling. What would make her come here from Florida without telling her father?"

"I don't know," the Mayor mumbled, running a hand through his short hair.

"Tyler also mentioned that she didn't talk. Not with him or Matt, not once," Carol pointed out.

Richard blinked "This just keeps getting more complicated… I – Would you go and get her, please? I think the three of us should have a talk."

"Three?" Carol tilted her head "And Tyler?"

Richard sighed "We don't know what happened and I'm more comfortable discussing this without our son here. You know about his temper."

"He won't be happy."

"Tyler will get over it," the Lockwood patriarch told his wife "He's not a child anymore."

Carol rolled her eyes "I'll be right back." She walked up the stairs, walking towards the guest bedroom that had been Thea's room whenever she had visited. From inside, she could hear her son's quiet voice, telling his cousin about all the things she had missed in the past years. The older woman didn't even try and stop the smile from crossing her face. Maybe Thea being here was a good thing. It gave Tyler someone to focus on, someone his own age who loved him for who he was.

"Come in," Tyler called after his mother knocked quietly.

She poked her head in, taking in the heart-breaking scene in front of her. Thea was pretty much shaking, curled up to Tyler's chest. The younger girl looked so small, so vulnerable and it made Carol want to bundle her up and protect her from the world "Will you come downstairs with me, darling?" the woman questioned quietly, her eyes on the sixteen-year-old.

"Hey," Tyler murmured, tilting Thea's head up "We talked about this. It will be alright."

When he was about to get up and follow the two female Lockwoods, his mother stopped him "Your father wants to speak to Thea alone."

"What?"

"I know that you don't like this, Tyler," Carol told him softly "But I think this is for the best."

Tyler narrowed his eyes "Fine," he huffed "I'll be in my room." With that, he stalked off, slamming the door behind him.

Thea flinched at the loud noise, her eyes welling up with tears at the thought of having to talk to her aunt and uncle alone. As soon as she was downstairs, Thea's hand tightened around the notebook that was clutched in her hand, her nerves becoming worse by the second.

"Thea," Richard greeted his niece with a smile. He was about to pull her into a hug when she flinched away from him. His eyes narrowed at the gesture and red flags rose in his mind "You have grown a lot since you were here last. You look even more like your mother now."

Carol looked from her husband to the girl in front of him "How about we sit down?"

Thea sunk onto one of the couches, making sure that she could see the door from where she was sitting while the older two Lockwoods sat down across from her "So…" Richard started, clearing his throat "Can I ask why you're here? Not that we're not happy to see you but…"

"What Richard is trying to say," Carol cut him off with a small glare "Are you alright?" Thea shook her head, fiddling with the pen anxiously "What happened at home? Did you have a fight with Mason?" Another negative shake of her head "We can't help you if you don't talk to us, sweetheart."

'**Will you send me back?**' Thea scribbled into her notebook, shoving it in the direction of the two adults.

They exchanged a glance and Richard studied her closely "If you tell us what happened we can help, Thea. Did anyone hurt you?"

The girl grabbed the book back, debating what to tell them '**Dad is never around. Hell, he hasn't even talked to me in months. He's always with his… friends and – I just don't want to go back.**'

Carol got up, sitting down on the sofa next to her niece "That's not all, is there? Something made you run."

Thea shook her head harshly, her eyes showing the fear she was feeling. This was something she never wanted anyone to know '**Nothing happened.**'

"Thea," her Aunt Carol sighed, drawing the girl into her arms "Everything will be alright. Richard will call your father and make sure that he knows that you're staying with us for a little."

"We would like you to know that you can talk to us though," Richard added.

'**He doesn't care. I'm sure he didn't even notice that I left.**' Thea wrote, looking up at her aunt with a teary smile '**Is it alright if I go to sleep now? I'm tired.**'

Carol read over her shoulder and nodded "Of course. We are going to the Grill for dinner but you can sleep until we leave." The sixteen-year-old nodded and walked out of the room.

The two adults were quiet for a moment before Richard let out a breath, burying his face in his hands "This is a mess."

"What do you think we should do?" Carol questioned.

"I don't know. Did you see how scared she looked? And she says that Mason didn't notice something was wrong," the Mayor huffed "I haven't seen the girl in years and it's obvious the moment you see her."

His wife nodded in agreement "I think we should hold off that call to Mason. Maybe ask Liz whether there is a missing person report in her name first. I'm sure that her school will contact Mason when they notice that she's missing?"

"That's a good idea," Richard hummed "You know, I can't believe that Mason would actually leave her on her own. I mean, they were so close when she was a child." Him being a werewolf couldn't be the reason for him pushing his own daughter away, could it? Did Thea even know about their bloodline? Tyler didn't and that was a good thing but Richard wasn't sure what his niece knew and what not. Maybe he would mention it to her in a little while.

**Hey guys. So... I don't know whether to put this story down as Mature yet? I mean, there are hints to what happened to her but nothing really graphic. I don't know. What do you think?**

**Nick**


	3. Chapter 3

A few days after Thea arrived in Mystic Falls, there was still no missing person's report. The Mayor had called Liz as soon as Thea had left the room and told her to keep an eye on the matter. The more time passed, the angrier Richard got at his brother. There was forgetting about someone and there was neglect. What happened to Thea was clearly the later.

"So," Richard started as the entire Lockwood family sat at one of the Grill's tables for lunch "Are you ready for going shopping later, Thea?"

The sixteen-year-old looked up at her uncle with wide eyes and shook her head, trying to tell them that it wasn't necessary with hand gestures. When that didn't work, she pulled out a pen and started scribbling on a napkin '**You don't have to. I don't need more clothes.**' Thea only had three changes of clothes but she was uncomfortable with them spending money on her.

"Nonsense," Carol chided "You need a dress for the founder's party tomorrow and some more clothes."

"Just stop arguing," Tyler shook his head with a grin "Mom won't give up." Thea sighed and nodded, giving up when she saw the truth in her cousin's words.

Vicki Donovan, one of the waitresses of the Grill walked over to the family, looking at Thea in confused jealousy. She had no idea who that girl was but she was sitting way too close to Tyler for her taste "How are y'all doing over here?"

Mayor Lockwood smiled lightly "Ah, we're doing great, sweetheart."

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Vicki questioned.

Tyler looked down at his baby cousin "Do you want anything else, Kitten?" Thea shook her head, gesturing to her half-full plate and the glass that still had coke in it. It had been a while since she had eaten a full portion and the portions at the Grill were way bigger than she was used to "We're fine, thanks."

"Just the check, honey," Richard told the older Donovan.

Vicki nodded, walking away to grab the receipt for their table "Here you go, Mayor Lockwood." She handed it over, accepting the money, he gave her in return.

"Thanks," Richard nodded, getting up from the chair "Tyler, do you want to come with us today?"

"And go shopping?" the seventeen-year-old questioned with a sceptical look "I have homework to do anyway."

Carol wrapped her arm around Thea's shoulders and lead her towards the exit "Well, let's get this over with then, shall we?"

Thea pouted at having to go shopping. She was slightly annoyed at Tyler getting out of the shopping trip but then again, he was a teenage boy and it was normal for them to dislike shopping. There were exceptions, of course, but that didn't mean that Tyler was one of those exceptions. She turned around, sticking out her tongue at him, causing Richard to snort, nudging her in the back of the head. Thea flinched away lightly. It had gotten better then last few days but the sixteen-year-old still didn't like being touched by an older man, even if she knew that Uncle Richard wouldn't hurt her.

* * *

The three Lockwoods went to the shopping mall in Richmond and there the torture began. Carol dragged Thea and her husband to several stores, somehow finding clothes that Thea actually liked while also finding some that the girl wouldn't even touch. She really wasn't a 'pink' type of girl. The sixteen-year-old preferred skinny jeans or shorts to dresses and skirts although that might have been because she lived so close to the beach and the boys there were idiots more often than not. Thea had already gotten four full outfits with several shirts and sweaters, so now it was only the dresses, underwear and the more formal clothes left.

"Thea," Richard spoke up while his wife was picking out some clothes. She would have let Thea pick out things but since the sixteen-year-old was constantly looking at the prizes, the older woman just did it herself "A few days ago, I called Liz. She kept an eye on the missing reports from your area…" He shifted the shopping bags, looking down at his niece who was avoiding his gaze "How is it that your school didn't call Mason by now? I mean, you must have missed a week already."

Thea licked her lips uncomfortably, patting her jacket to find the notebook '**I'm not going to a local school. When it was time for me to go to High School, I applied for online school and actually got a scholarship. And since I'm attending classes online, I can do it from my laptop.**'

"Online school?" the Mayor blinked in surprise "Why?"

'**They don't care that I don't talk.**' The sixteen-year-old wrote down.

It was then that Carol came back with a whole bunch of dresses in her hand "Thea, darling. Would you look at these and tell me which one you like?"

Thea nodded, walking over to look at the dresses. There were six that she really liked just by looking at them. One was a dress with a white body, lacy elbow-length sleeves and a dark blue skirt. It was really pretty, so it went on the 'try on' pile. Another one was completely black with a sweetheart neckline and a silver belt around the waist, then a navy blue semi-formal dress with a lacy top and a plain red dress with sleeves. The fifth dress was a turquoise short dress that had a layer going further down on the right side. The sixth though, it was a ballgown. Thea wasn't sure whether she would need one of those but it was so beautiful. The gown had a sweetheart neckline as well but the body was dark with silver sparkling stones that were splattered down to the long purple-black skirt. The black in the skirt was see-through, so the purple shimmered through without a problem '**I like these,**' she wrote, gesturing to the six dresses.

"How about you try them on over there? Do you want me to come with you?" Carol asked. Her niece nodded lightly and started walking in the direction of the changing rooms.

In the end, they bought all of them and after a total of five hours and hundreds of dollars later, they were on their way back to Mystic Falls. On the drive back, the two adults asked some more questions about Thea's schooling, asking her to show them what she's doing once they're back home. The sixteen-year-old agreed, knowing that the online school she went to was one of the best in the country and thanks to the scholarship more than affordable. Especially since both the Lockwood family and the family of Thea's mother were pretty rich. After the death of her mother, Thea inherited all the money, since her mother was the last of her family, her parents having died in a car accident several years before Natasha met Mason.

* * *

The next morning, Tyler woke Thea up by jumping on her bed "Come on, sleepyhead. Mom wants me to go and get something for the founder's part later today and you're coming with me." Thea glared up at her cousin sleepily, shaking her head "You're coming whether you want to or not. Now, get dressed."

The sixteen-year-old sighed, rubbing at her eyes. Might as well get up before Tyler decided that he didn't want to wait for her to get dressed. She got ready as fast as she could, just throwing on some clothes, putting up her hair in a high ponytail. No need to make a huge fuss right now, since she would have to shower later anyway.

"Are you done?" Tyler asked as Thea walked out of her bedroom. She just huffed and pushed past him.

"Good morning, dear," Carol smiled when her niece entered the kitchen, handing her a plate with two pieces of buttered toast "Did you sleep well?"

'**Until Tyler decided to wake me… Sure,**' she wrote on the piece of paper on the counter. Within a few days, Thea had spread pieces of paper and small notebooks in almost every room of the house that she spent time in. It was easier than always having her notebook on her when she was home… Home. It was nice to have a real home again. A place where she was actually wanted.

"Are you going with him?" the Lockwood matriarch questioned. Thea nodded, stuffing the rest of her toast into her mouth "Make sure that he doesn't get himself into any trouble, would you?" The sixteen-year-old grinned, saluting jokingly.

Fifteen minutes later, the two cousins pulled up at a house that was quite a bit smaller than the Lockwood Mansion but nice nevertheless. Tyler got out of the car, meeting Thea on the other side. When the front door opened, it was a boy around Thea's age and as soon as he saw Tyler, he tried to push it close again "I'm here for my mom," the older Lockwood said "I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff."

"Right here," Elena said, shoving her brother to the side carefully. Thea stiffened as soon as the girl came into view. How was this possible? She looked exactly like her father's girlfriend but there was no way she and Kathy were the same person. For one, Kathy was older and she was still in Florida. Thea might not know a lot but she knew that Kathy had planned a lot of what happened to her father "Please be careful."

"Yeah," Jeremy nodded, glancing at the girl next to Tyler in confusion. She looked familiar but he couldn't quite place her "Be careful with it, dick."

Tyler was about to say something but Thea shook her head, pulling at his arm. She was worried that he would do something stupid "I'm fine, Thea." He glared at Jeremy "He's just being a punk."

"I got your punk," the younger boy hissed angrily.

Elena tugged at her brother's arm, pushing him further into the house before she turned back to the two on the other side of the door "Thea as in your cousin?" she questioned.

"What about it?" Tyler shot back defensively.

"I was just asking," the Gilbert pointed out defensively "Maybe you should go now. Tell your mom that I'll see her tonight."

Tyler rolled his eyes "Fine. I'll see you, Elena. Come on, Thea. Let's get home."

* * *

The party started that evening and Thea was standing with her aunt and uncle while Tyler was off somewhere with Vicki. The sixteen-year-old didn't think that the girl was good enough but it might just be because Vicki had glared at her when she arrived.

"Caroline," Carol greeted with a wide smile, startling Thea out of her thoughts "You look smashing."

The Sheriff's daughter nodded gratefully "Thank you, Mrs Lockwood. This is my boyfriend, Damon."

"Oh, well, come on in," the older Lockwood woman gestured "Caroline, you remember Thea, don't you?" She gestured to me.

"Yeah," the blonde nodded, smiling at the younger girl "You're Mason's daughter, right?"

Thea nodded and turned to look at the raven-haired man when he started talking "Lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while."

"Well, enjoy," Carol dismissed them, looking down at her niece "You can go on as well. Although, I think Liz wanted to talk to you."

Caroline looked at the younger girl curiously "Why does my mom want to talk to you?"

Thea looked down before looking around. She bit her lips, trying to think about whether to find a notebook or just leave it. Carol who had been about to walk away, turned to Caroline "Thea doesn't talk. I hope that's not a problem."

"Wait, since when don't you talk?" the blonde questioned, her face showing her confusion.

The sixteen-year-old shrugged, walking past them to where the first registry was hanging. She should have expected people to ask but… It was still something that she was uncomfortable with. There might not be a medical reason for her to not talk but that didn't mean that the choice was fully conscious either.

It didn't take long before the Kathy look-alike walked over to where Thea was standing "Hey, Thea. Nice to see you again," Elena smiled lightly. Her smile fell though when Thea just nodded once, deciding to look at the registry instead "'The Founding Families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration,'" Elena read "Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names. Sheriff William Forbes. Mayor Benjamin Lockwood… Is that Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?"

Thea zeroed in on the names in surprise. That was a very strange coincidence. She jumped and shifted away quickly when a voice spoke up directly behind her "The original Salvatore brothers," Damon pointed out but there was something about his tone. Something that was very familiar to Thea. It was the same tone that her father usually took once his… secret came up "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually."

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan shook his head, glaring at his older brother.

"It's not boring," Elena told him "I'd love to hear more about your family."

Caroline looked at the other girl before shaking her head "Well, I'm bored. I want to dance and Damon won't dance with me."

The older Salvatore hummed "Mh-hmm."

Thea shook her head, wondering why she was still standing by them. She looked around, trying to find Sheriff Forbes in the crowd of people. Once she caught sight of the woman, she glanced at the people next to her, scurrying off.

"Ah, hello Thea," Liz smiled, seeing the young girl walking towards her.

'**You wanted to talk to me?**' she wrote on the paper that she was still holding.

"Would you mind if we talked somewhere private?" the Sheriff questioned, noticing that they gathered a few glances.

The sixteen-year-old nodded, gesturing for the older woman to follow her. She walked up the stairs and to her room. The upper floor was completely out of bounds for all the people, so they should be alone '**Is this about my father?**'

Liz sighed, sitting down on the chair that was by the desk "There has been no missing report, nothing. The way things are going at the moment, you might be able to stay here even if your father contests."

'**Because he didn't notice yet? Does he… have to be told about me being here?**' Thea tilted his head.

"It would be better," the Sheriff shrugged "Why are you so against it, honey?"

Thea shrugged, shaking her head '**I'm just tired. Being here… It doesn't matter. I just don't want to go back.**'

Liz smiled at the girl sympathetically "I'll let your aunt and uncle know."

'**Can you tell Aunt Carol that I'm staying up here?**' Thea wrote.

"Of course, dear," the blonde woman patted her shoulder before walking to the door, leaving the sixteen-year-old by herself.

Thea exhaled silently, sinking down on her bed. She leaned over to her bag on the floor, digging out her journal. One of her advisors had told her to write down everything that happened, drawing or just try to make sure to write down her feelings. They were the only one she told a little bit about what happened to her but without proof, Thea's advisor could only urge her to go to the authorities.

It was maybe an hour later after Thea had pretty much poured everything into her diary that she was standing by her bedroom window, just staring outside. Her eyes caught something that made her tense.

Damon was dragging Caroline along by the arm. They stopped as soon as they were away from the crowd on the lawn. She watched as the older Salvatore walked around the girl before seemingly biting her. So she was right? He was a vampire? That would mean that Stefan was a vampire as well…

Thea pressed her hand against the window as Damon fell to the ground with Caroline. Another figure – Stefan – walked up to them only to pick up Damon, taking him away. She shook her head, debating on whether she wanted to get involved or just stay away from the whole thing. It was still up for grabs but Thea had a feeling that no matter how hard she was going to try, it wouldn't work. Whether it was the vampires who would draw her in or werewolves, it was going to happen one way or another.

* * *

As soon as the party was done, the sixteen-year-old walked back down the stairs, trying to find something to eat. She might have eaten something a few hours ago but it seemed like ages. Thea was about to walk past the open door of her uncle's study when she heard voices "Thank you for staying so late," Richard sighed.

"Did you get the Gilbert watch?" Sheriff Forbes questioned, looking at Carol.

The Lockwood matriarch shook her head "She claims it's packed away in her parents' things."

"I can get it," a man Thea didn't recognize spoke up.

"Good," Liz nodded "We're going to need it."

Mayor Lockwood closed his eyes "Are you sure?"

Liz sighed "Five bodies all drained of blood? I'm certain."

"They've come back," the unknown man hummed. Thea swallowed, stepping back unconsciously, hitting a table with a vase on it. They knew about vampires? Did they know who the vampires were? "Did you hear that?"

"Thea," Carol gasped, standing up from the chair she had been sitting on once she saw her young niece in the doorway of the now open door.

Richard moved quickly, grabbing a hold of his niece's arms "How much have you heard?"

Thea's breathing picked up, struggling against her uncle's grip. She was shaking her head, hoping to get away from him somehow. Carol pulled at her husband's arm "Let her go, Richard. Look at her."

"Thea… I –" the Mayor broke off, stepping away from the girl.

Liz had been watching the girl's reaction closely. She seemed alright being in Carol's arms but as soon as Richard had come closer… "Thea? Did your father hurt you?" The sixteen-year-old shook her head immediately, looking a little insulted "Then who did? Because it is obvious someone did."

"Who is she, then?"

"Oh, right," Carol murmured, prodding Thea to look up "Thea, that's Logan Fell. Logan, my niece Thea. She's Mason's daughter."

Logan's expression lightened up "Oh, I think I remember you from when you were a little kid. Like… five or six. Mason was so proud of you back then."

Thea swallowed back the tears as she looked at the man. She looked at her aunt before turning around to run out of the room. Her hunger was forgotten. She just wanted to be alone.

**I'm posting this and a chapter for another story because I'm not sure whether I can write much the next few days since I'm not at home and tomorrow I have to go to church because my cousin has... something. Not sure what it's called in English and I'm too lazy to check. **

**Nick**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm not sure whether I will update much in the next few weeks since I'm going to Spain for three weeks starting the Sunday after next. I'll do my best to write but I am doing a language course, so I don't know how busy I'll be.**

**Enjoy, **

**Nick**

"Thea?" Carol called out, knocking on her niece's bedroom door. She heard shuffling before the door opened to a dishevelled Thea "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The sixteen-year-old nodded, stepping to the side. Carol went to sit at the desk when Thea quickly grabbed her open diary and stuffed it under her pillow, shrugging at the look she got '**What's up?**'

Carol licked her lips uncomfortably "About what happened yesterday…"

It was as if a switch flipped in the young brunette and her face closed off '**It's nothing. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I'm sorry.**'

"Thea," the older woman sighed "You can't just act as if nothing happened. We're just worried about you."

'**Don't be. I'm fine,**' Thea shrugged, knowing very well that she really wasn't fine. She just didn't want to talk about it or even think about it. Being away from the whole situation helped a little but the nightmares were still weighing her down.

Carol got up, sitting down next to her niece "You can tell us everything, you know. Both Richard and I just want to help you. If someone has hurt you then it needs to be dealt with, Thea." The sixteen-year-old shook her head, picking at some loose threads on her shirt "Alright. I can see that you're not going to say anything," the older woman murmured, leaning forward to press a kiss to Thea's head "I'm sorry that we're always trying to get you to talk when you clearly don't want to but it's really important that you tell us. If you're in danger back home then I want to make sure that you never have to go back."

'**I'm okay, Aunt Carol. There is no danger,**' the brunette girl scrawled, her hand clenching around the pen making the letters sharper than they normally were.

The Lockwood matriarch closed her eyes, obviously not believing her niece for a good reason but if she didn't want to talk, she wouldn't. Thea was as stubborn as the rest of the Lockwoods although thankfully not quite as bad as Tyler and Richard were. Sometimes she wondered why she put up with everything… "What do you have planned for today, dear?"

Thea relaxed a little at the change in subject and looked up for a moment '**I have school. Do you think I could go to the Grill later? I – While school is on, there aren't too many people there, right?**'

"Normally, yes," Carol nodded "Do you want Richard to drop you off when he leaves for work?"

'**If he doesn't mind,**' Thea wrote with a small smile '**I like being around other people when doing my school work. It's too many people and noise that I prefer to stay away from.**'

"Ah, yes. The Grill fills up quite a lot after school is finished," the older woman grinned lightly "Text Tyler to pick you up after school." Thea nodded and grabbed her shoulder bag to put her laptop along with a few books and a notebook inside.

Half an hour later, Thea was sitting in the passenger side of her uncle's car, staring out of the window with unfocused eyes.

Richard looked from the road to his niece and back "Thea? I'm sure Carol talked to you about yesterday so I won't bother but… There is something I want to talk to you about tonight if that's alright?"

The sixteen-year-old turned her head to him and frowned at him in confusion, mouthing 'Why?' when he glanced at her again.

"It's about our family and since you know about vampires… Well…" the Mayor broke off, looking uncomfortable. He never liked talking about the gene that had been passed down from his ancestors. It just made him want to hide away. Fortunately, he didn't have to actually turn into a werewolf because even with his anger issues, Richard had always been able to stop himself from going too far "Here we are." He pulled up at the Grill and leaned over to press a kiss to Thea's temple, ignoring her flinch as he pressed several bills into her hand "Have fun."

Thea stared at the money for a moment before she shook her head in denial, trying to hand it back but her uncle just closed her hand over it with a smile. The girl rolled her eyes and sighed silently, picking up her bag from the legroom and waved at Richard before scrambling out of the car.

* * *

Thea got through all of her live lessons by noon and since it was still pretty quiet by then, she worked on some of the things she had missed since leaving Florida along with an essay her literature teacher had assigned them.

She was startled out of her work when her phone pinged with a new message '**Mom told me to pick you up. You still at the Grill? - Tyler**'

'**Yeah. I'm still there**' Thea texted back quickly and started gathering her things together.

"Hey," Tyler greeted, falling into the booth across from me "You okay?" Thea gave him thumbs up and grinned, gesturing to him with a questioning look. Her cousin groaned "Don't ask. School is school. You're lucky you don't have to attend lessons in person. At least your teachers seem to like what they're doing." He had seen one of the offline lessons when Thea worked on her Maths before and actually understood more than he ever had.

'**I prefer it, actually. Since I don't talk… It's been – problematic when I was still attending. The teachers never understood and would try to force me to talk. I'm happier this way,**' Thea typed into her phone, handing it over for him to read.

Tyler looked at his younger cousin with a sad smile "I'm so sorry." The seventeen-year-old looked uncomfortable for a moment "Hey, today's the Sexy Suds Car Wash and mom wanted me to take you. We're going to have to go home to change first."

She snatched her phone back '**Change?!**'

"According to Caroline, it's called 'sexy suds' for a reason. Not sure if it's only the girls who have to wear bikinis or not," the Lockwood boy shrugged.

Thea shook her head '**I'm going to that stupid thing if I have to but I'm not taking off my shirt.**'There was no way that she would just walk around without a shirt… It wasn't that she was self-conscious or anything but she just didn't feel comfortablewithout her shirt anywhere near men or even boys. Normally, she didn't have a problem around boys but being shirtless around them was another thing entirely.

"Alright," Tyler nodded, holding up his hands. While he had no idea why the girl across from him was as adamant as she was, he didn't want to argue with her. After all, she had always been shy "Then we go now. I haven't promised mom how long we're staying." He smirked lightly, laughing when Thea's expression lit up "Let's go."

* * *

Since Carol had made the mistake of giving Tyler and Thea a loophole, she couldn't even be mad at them when they returned from the Car Wash not thirty minutes after they left the Grill "That wasn't what I meant when I said that you should go out more, Thea," Carol shook her head.

Thea grinned at her and shrugged, sitting down on one of the couches in the living room tiredly. Her school day had been surprisingly difficult and the lessons were exhausting but that was to be expected occasionally. She wasn't too into the topics she had recently, so she had to work harder to get the material down.

"I think your uncle wants to talk to you," the Lockwood matriarch pointed out "He's in his office."

'**Thanks**,' Thea signed, making her way to her Uncle Richard's office. All three of the Lockwoods had started to learn some sign language. It wasn't nearly good enough to understand what Thea would be saying but they knew simple words and could sometimes understand what she was trying to say.

Mason's daughter knocked on the door to Richard's office and waited until she heard "Come in." She opened the door and slipped through the door "Thea. How was your day?" Thea gave a thumbs up before gesturing to the chair with a tilt of her head "Yes, yes. Sit down."

Richard got up from his chair, walking over to the bookshelf to one side of the room. He stared at the journals in consideration before he grabbed a few of them "You said that you were aware of our family history, right?"

'**Yes**,' Thea nodded '**I know that Dad triggered his gene a while ago.**'

"But you haven't, right?" Richard asked, looking at his niece worriedly.

Thea tilted her head with a small smile '**No. I haven't really left the house in a while and as such… There wasn't much of a chance that I would overpower anyone inside the house.**'

The Lockwood patriarch raised his eyebrow "I'm a little worried about the fact that you don't call it your home. Are you sure that you don't want to talk about the reason?"

'**Very sure**,' the sixteen-year-old nodded with a huff before glancing at the books in her uncle's hands '**What are those?**'

"These? Here." He handed them over to her "Those are some of the journals of our ancestors. I thought you might like to read them since you're already aware. These five, specifically, are from where the town was founded." Thea lowered her head to leaf through the journals immediately, already getting sucked into the first-hand accounts of her ancestors. Richard laughed at her "Okay, I can see that I've lost you here already." When his niece grinned up at him sheepishly, he waved her off "Just… Do me a favour and don't tell Tyler about any of this yet."

Thea frowned '**Wouldn't it be easier to tell him now instead of letting him find out the hard way? He already has anger issues… Don't you think he should know what could happen if he messes up?**'

"He's been doing better," Richard pointed out "Since you arrived he's been a lot more focussed on you."

'**That doesn't help**,' the sixteen-year-old argued '**You have to tell him, Uncle Richard.**'

The oldest Lockwood closed his eyes and sank down on his chair "I'll – I'll think about it, alright? I don't want to ruin his life by telling him about our curse."

'**Just be a good role model. That's what he needs the most, I think.**'

"If I didn't know any better, I would have said that you were older than sixteen – almost seventeen." The last part he added when she crossed her arms, glaring at him jokingly "Oh, get out of here, brat."

Thea sent her uncle a smile before leaning over his desk to press a small kiss to his cheek. She still wasn't a hundred percent comfortable with being to close to him but she did know that he would never harm her.

**So, I have a Poll up. It will stay up for quite a while but it has all of my new story ideas. The names and pairings are on my profile page as well as the link to the Poll. Everyone has fifteen votes, so go for it. You can vote for the ones you like the pairing of or wait until I have published them all. Your choice.**

**Nick**


	5. Chapter 5

As normally, Thea was sitting in one of the back booths of the Grill, leafing through one of the journals her uncle had given her. Ever since she had received them, she was hooked. Reading what her ancestors went through – some of them having triggered the gene early on – was really something interesting. Horrifying but also interesting. With the journals, Thea could see what her father had to go through every full moon. Now, she wasn't sure whether it got better with a pack around but considering that wolves were pack animals, she assumed that it would help at least a little.

"You said you would explain everything," Elena pointed out when she and Stefan sat down in the booth next to the youngest Lockwood's. The Doppelgänger hadn't noticed her "That's why I asked you to meet me here. When you Google 'vampire' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"

Thea rolled her eyes, still looking down at the journal in her hands. Compared to Kathy, Elena seemed like a bit of a thicker double. Whether that was the truth, she didn't know but there was one thing Mason's daughter was sure of. Kathy wouldn't speak about vampires, werewolves and all that crap in a popular restaurant where everyone could overhear. Everyone and the Council.

Stefan sighed, running a hand through his hair in agitation "I can tell you whatever you wanna know," he told the human Doppelgänger.

"I know you eat garlic," Elena pointed out.

The vampire snorted "Yes."

His girlfriend – not-quite girlfriend? – hummed "And somehow, sunlight's not an issue." This made Thea stiffen. She knew of the Supernatural but even she didn't know how some vampires were walking in the sun.

"Hi," a waitress walked up to the duo, settling down their drinks "Here are your drinks."

"Thank you," Elena smiled, turning back to Stefan when the other girl left.

Stefan held out his hand, playing with his ring "We have rings that protect us." It was after he said that, that he noticed the girl sitting behind Elena. Had Thea not shifted, the vampire probably wouldn't have been any wiser. After all, the girl was easily the quietest teenager he had seen in a while.

"Crucifixes?" the Doppelgänger shot, drawing his attention away from the youngest Lockwood.

"Decorative."

Elena tilted her head "Holy water?"

"Drinkable."

"Mirrors?"

Stefan's lips twitched "Myth."

"You said you don't kill to survive," the Gilbert pointed out.

"Animal blood keeps me alive," the vampire sighed "But not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful."

"And yet you let him get involved with Caroline?" Elena demanded disapprovingly.

The younger Salvatore let out a sarcastic laugh "Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me." Thea could believe that. Damon seemed like a guy who didn't care much about others and at the same time, was hiding parts of himself away. It took one to know one, one might say. The youngest Lockwood picked at a napkin, her mind wandering to what she had observed in the time she had been here. While she had only seen Damon once or twice, she knew that there was more to him than even his own brother knew.

Elena hissed "He was hurting her."

"He was feeding on her," Stefan corrected "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have."

"Is that supposed to make it okay?" The Doppelgänger crossed her arms, staring at the boy in front of her in annoyance.

"No," the Salvatore huffed "None of this is okay, Elena. I know that."

The girl closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose "Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?"

"Not in Mystic Falls," the vampire shook his head "Not anymore."

"Not anymore?"

Stefan nodded, licking his lips "There was a time when this town was… very much aware of vampires and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone." The Lockwood in the other booth knew exactly what Stefan was talking about. The journals had detailed the happenings just after the founding of the town. What they had done with the vampires there and lists of names, both victims and vampires. Thea wasn't sure whether the other Founding Families had written down as much as the Lockwoods but she doubted it. After all, members of her family had been the Mayor since the 1800s. These kind of information were of use to the rest of their line.

"I can't promise that," Elena said, already thinking about who she would and wouldn't be able to tell. Vampires were real… While this should probably freak her out more than it did, she found it rather fascinating. That and the fact that her boyfriend was one…

Stefan sighed again "Elena," he pleaded "Give me today. I will answer any questions that you have and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice." He looked around the restaurant that was slowly filling up with more and more people "How about we go somewhere we can talk in peace?"

"Fine," Elena agreed reluctantly "Give me a minute. I have to go to the bathroom first."

As soon as she was gone, the vampire turned his attention to Thea "You won't tell your uncle, will you?" Thea's head snapped up in surprise at being spoken to. She bit her lips, pulling out her pen when Stefan stopped her "I can speak sign if that's easier for you."

'**You can?**' Thea signed quickly.

Stefan sent her an amused smile "I've had a long time to learn."

The younger girl's mouth formed an 'o' as she nodded '**I haven't said anything yet. Why should I do so now?**'

"You knew already?" the vampire questioned, tilting his head.

'**It's not too hard to figure out. Damon wasn't very subtle at the party,**' Thea pointed out, her hands moving quickly '**So long as you don't hurt my family or anyone I care about, I don't care about you or your brother being here.**'

"Stefan," Elena called from the bar, tapping her foot a little impatiently.

"Thank you," Stefan whispered, squeezing her shoulder as he walked past.

* * *

"Thea, right?" a voice startled the sixteen-year-old out of her contemplating. It had been a couple of days since she had overheard Elena and Stefan's talk. She blinked up at the figure and opened her mouth in slight surprise. Next to her table was Damon. The same Damon who she hadn't seen since the Founder's party. Thea nodded, slightly unsure what the vampire wanted with her "Stefan told me what you told him."

The youngest Lockwood shrugged, fiddling with one of her fries. She wasn't too hungry but for some reason, a plate of fries had been calling her name. That and she knew that Aunt Carol would freak out on her if she found out that Thea hadn't eaten. And she would find out, just like she had found out all the other times… Maybe that was the perk of being the Mayor's wife in such a small town.

Damon sat down across from her, narrowing his eyes on the girl "Why?"

'**Why what?**' Thea wrote down on a napkin.

"Why don't you run to your uncle and tell him about the big, bad vampires?" the older Salvatore demanded. There was something about this girl that made him curious but he didn't know what it was. The fact that she could have made sure that he and his brother would have been dead days ago only added to the fact.

Thea signed silently '**I told Stefan that I don't care about you being a vampire,**' she scribbled '**Yes, you drink blood. Yes, you have killed people before. But who am I to judge? I don't know anything about you or Stefan apart from you being vampires.**'

"For the majority that would already be enough," Damon pointed out.

'**Then the majority of people are idiots,**' she told him with a small smirk '**Then again, the Council is practically falling over each other to find the vampires…**'

Damon raised his eyebrows "You know about the Council?"

Thea shrugged, her cheeks turning a little red '**Accident.**'

"This I have to hear," the vampire snorted "How can you accidentally find out about them?"

The sixteen-year-old looked down at her hands for a moment before glancing up at the deep blue eyes of the vampire. She blushed a little more, starting to get uncomfortable with the attention he was giving her. Thea wasn't used to people paying her as much attention as Damon did. Not even her aunt and uncle since they were so busy with everything. Tyler – Well, Tyler was in school most of the day but even so it was already a lot better than it had been in Florida '**I just did,**' she wrote down, taking a bite of her cooling fries.

Their conversation was cut short when the two adult Lockwoods walked over to the two "Thea," Richard greeted, pressing a kiss to his niece's temple "Are we interrupting something?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at the girl as she stiffened, mentally adding another piece to the puzzle that was her. She was from a Founding Family, yet she obviously didn't care about the stereotypes that her uncle had undoubtedly told her "No, no," the vampire shook his head "I was just keeping Thea company. She seemed a little alone earlier."

"Nothing unusual, right, kid?" Richard teased, nudging his niece's side with a gentle smile.

Thea rolled her eyes and scooted over, making space for her uncle. Carol sat down in the seat the Salvatore had occupied just minutes before "It was nice to speak to you, Thea," Damon smiled lightly "I hope that we can continue our discussion sometime?"

"What was that about?" Carol questioned curiously, looking from the sixteen-year-old to the man she had been introduced to at the Founder's party.


	6. Chapter 6

Thea was curled up on one of the chairs in front of Sheriff Forbes' desk at the office. It was relatively early in the morning and the girl was still extremely tired. That tiredness was paired with panic though. Sheriff Forbes had called an hour and a half ago, telling them that there was a missing person report filed for Thea.

Richard and Carol had spent the good part of thirty minutes calming down their niece. Now that there was a report – almost three weeks too late – she thought they would just hand her back to her father. Just because he noticed that she was missing. Both elder Lockwoods were pissed though. Not only had it taken Mason weeks to notice his daughter missing but he also didn't contact them at all. Richard understood that he and his younger brother hadn't gotten on too well but that didn't mean that he didn't love his niece.

"Are you alright, Thea?" Liz asked, looking at the shaking girl in front of her. Thea shook her head, tightening her arms around her knees, causing the Sheriff to sigh "Listen to me. Are you listening?" She paused for a moment, leaning forward in her chair "While I have to contact the police to tell them that you're safe and with family, it doesn't mean that you have to go back. We have a pretty good case… I told Richard to call your father, making sure that he knows you're here."

Thea flinched a little at the thought of her father knowing. Her eyes focused on a piece of paper that was lying in front of her '**What if he wants me to go back? I… I can't.**'

"I'm sure Richard and Carol will have something to say about that too," Liz pointed out with a small smile "Don't worry too much, alright? I know Mason and while he has undoubtedly changed into someone I barely know anymore… I know that he cares about you a lot. You were always his little girl."

'**Were…**' the sixteen-year-old scribbled onto the paper.

Liz closed her eyes for a moment. The evidence was there… Something had definitely happened to the young girl but she wasn't talking. Well, she wasn't telling them anything and that might be the problem with it all. The Sheriff couldn't do anything without knowing what had happened and how bad her home life really was "It'll be alright, Thea. You'll see." Thea looked at her with doubt shining in her eyes and Liz was about to reassure her more when her desk phone rang "Yeah?" She blinked before sighing "Send him in." The door behind Thea opened, causing her to jump in alarm. The sixteen-year-old relaxed when she recognized Damon, sending him a small smile "Mister Salvatore, come on in. I hope you don't mind that Thea is here for the moment?"

"Sure," Damon shook his head, looking at the pale girl in concern. She seemed jumpier than normal and that made him want to hurt the person responsible. He might have only talked to her a couple of times but something about Thea was likeable. She didn't judge him and wasn't scared of him in any way. This alone made the vampire respect the girl at least a little.

Liz looked from Thea to Damon with a tilted head. The two of them seemed to know each other and from the way the man had positioned himself, she could only guess at their relationship "I understand from Mrs Lockwood that your uncle is out of town?"

"Yes," Damon nodded "He is. But I spoke with Zach." Which was a huge lie but they didn't need to know that "He filled me in and asked if I could bring this to you." He handed the Sheriff a box filled with vervain "Are you sure that we should talk about this in front of…?"

"Thea is in the know," the blonde woman waved off, looking into the box "Vervain."

Damon sighed, running a hand through his hair "That's all we have at the moment. I hope it's enough." Thea narrowed her eyes, suppressing a small smirk. She could guess what Damon was doing and it amused her to no end. After their conversation at the Grill, she burned the pages… She mostly burned the pages that she used to talk to people to. It was easier and this way no one could find out what she had been talking about.

"It's a small circle," Liz murmured "Founding Families… A few city officials."

"And your deputies, of course, right?" Damon finished "Are we any closer?"

The Sheriff shook her head "I think our facts are wrong. We've always believed that vampires can only come out in the dark. What if that's changed?"

Damon raised his eyebrow "So is that even possible?"

"We've exhausted every other option," Liz pointed out with a sigh "We have to consider the vampire may be walking around during the day. Right in front of us."

"Hm," Damon nodded, hiding his thoughts behind a mask. A glanced down at the girl in front of him revealed her amusement. Her eyes were practically dancing which made her even more beautiful in his eyes. Hold on… Beautiful? Where did that come from? The vampire shook his head "So, what's the next step?"

Liz leaned back in her chair "We're now looking at anyone new to town since the deaths began. Should turn up a suspect or two."

"And I, of course, will do anything I can to help," Damon agreed, with an incline of his head.

"Thank you," Liz smiled before messing around with the package of vervain in front of her. She closed it back up and handed it to Thea "Can you give this to your uncle? He knows what to do."

'**Sure,**' Thea nodded, accepting the bundle '**Are we done?**'

The Sheriff nodded unsurely "I will call Richard and tell him what we talked about. It is important that – at the very least – the police finds out that you're alright. And since they'd tell…"

Thea swallowed heavily '**Yeah. I understand that.**'

"I'm sorry."

The youngest Lockwood waved her off and turned around, only to be stopped by Damon. The vampire had heard her heart speeding up and felt like the girl needed someone to talk to. Ever since he talked to her at the Grill, he learned a little ASL from Stefan who – for some reason – was actually pretty good at it "Would you mind company?" Thea looked up at him for a moment before shaking her head. She waved at Liz before walking out after Damon. Outside, she was about to pull out her notebook when Damon stopped her with a sheepish expression "I asked Stefan to teach me some sign language. I'm not too good yet but… It might be easier than writing everything down."

Thea gaped at him for a moment before slowly signing '**For me?**'

"No, for Santa," Damon snarked, rolling his eyes "I heard he was going for the deaf theme this year."

'**Thank you,**' Thea signed, not even fazed by his sarcasm. No one had ever learned sign language just for her. Tyler wanted to but he didn't have the chance yet, so she was stuck writing everything down. Not that it wasn't her own fault but still. It got annoying after a while, especially when most people treat you like you're mentally challenged when you hand over a piece of paper instead of talking.

"You're welcome," the vampire smiled before tilting his head "Why were you with the Sheriff anyway?"

Thea licked her lips uncomfortably '**There's been a report,**' she signed, making sure to do so as slowly as possible. She knew it wasn't too easy to learn sign. Being a vampire didn't change a thing '**My father noticed that I'm not home anymore.**'

Damon raised his eyebrow "Haven't you been here for a few weeks?" He cursed under his breath when the sixteen-year-old nodded "Well, in that case, he doesn't deserve you as a daughter. I'm sorry."

'**It's the way it is,**' Thea waved off '**I'm used to it.**'

"You shouldn't be, though," the vampire pointed out, stopping next to his car "Do you want me to drive you home?"

Thea shook her head and held up the package '**Have to go to see my uncle. He's at work.**'

"I'll leave you to it then," Damon nodded and went to get into his car. He froze and turned around "Give me your phone, will you?" When Thea handed it over, he quickly tipped in his number and shot himself a text "There. I'll see you around, Thea."

* * *

Richard looked up when someone knocked on the door to his office "Come in," he called, frowning to himself. Why hadn't his secretary called him about someone being here to see him? She normally wasn't like this unless… His frown levelled out when Thea entered, closing the door behind her quietly. The Mayor barely withheld a sigh when he saw how tired and out of it his niece looked "Thea. How was the talk with Liz?" Thea shuddered and walked over to throw herself at her uncle. She needed the contact right now. After everything she heard today, she really didn't want to be alone. Richard pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her "Hey, you're fine. I will do everything in my power to keep you here, Thea. Everything."

Thea buried her face in her uncle's shoulder, holding up the package that she still held in her hands. She hesitated before leaning over, grabbing a blank piece of paper '**Liz said to give you this. Damon brought it over.**'

"Ah, the vervain from Zach," Richard nodded, setting the package down in one of the drawers of his desk that he always kept locked. After that was done, he ran his hand through his niece's hair "I was thinking about calling Mason now that you're here. Hear what he has to say. Do you want to stay and listen in? It's your choice, Thea but I feel like it's necessary to at least tell him that you're here now that he noticed."

Thea twisted her hand in her uncle's button down '**I want to listen,**' she wrote down, even if she really wasn't sure whether she actually wanted to hear what her father had to say. While she did love him… He was her father after all but Thea wasn't sure whether he saw her as a burden or just didn't care anymore.

"Alright. But you know that you can leave whenever you feel like it," Richard murmured, seeing the hurt and indecision on the sixteen-year-old's face.

'**Can we just get this over with?**' Thea asked, hiding her face back in her uncle's shirt. She still didn't feel completely comfortable with a man's embrace but she knew that her uncle wouldn't hurt her. He hadn't so far and Thea knew that Richard wasn't the kind of person that… he was. Regardless, she felt like it was only a matter of time before her world would crash again. It always did whenever she was happy.

The older Lockwood shifted, making it more comfortable for both Thea and himself. Might as well enjoy having his niece this close for as long as he could. It had really hurt him that she was as wary as she was about being close to him, so he was happy that she started to come around. He turned on the speaker of the phone and quickly dialled the number he had gotten from Liz earlier. Since their fight, Mason had changed his number, so he wouldn't get any calls from his brother "_Hello?_" Mason's voice came through the speaker, causing Thea to stiffen a little, clenching her free hand into her thigh harshly.

"Mason? It's Richard," the Mayor said and opened his mouth to say something else when he was cut off.

"_How did you get this number?_" Mason asked harshly.

Richard closed his eyes for a moment "From a certain Missing Person Report," he pointed out.

The younger of the two brothers hissed "_What? How do you know about that? Do you know where she is?_"

Richard trailed his hand up and down Thea's back "She's here. She's been here for a few weeks already."

"_Weeks?_" Mason mumbled when his brother's words registered "_I didn't…_"

"What were you thinking, Mason? Your own daughter ran away and you didn't even notice. For Thea's sake, either you pull your head out of your ass or you'll think about letting her stay with us," Richard snapped, finally losing the hold of his temper. His brother's tone was bothering him. How could he be this oblivious? What happened to him? Maybe it would have been different, had Thea not have to suffer from Mason's negligence but since it was his niece's wellbeing on the line, he was about to do everything, pull every string he could to make sure that the sixteen-year-old was happy and taken care of.

Thea let out a low whine from where her face was buried, tears wetting the collar of Richard's shirt. The Mayor ran his hand up and down his niece's back soothingly, murmuring into her ear quietly.

Mason let out a strangled noise "_What was that? Thea? Is she there with you?_"

"That's none of your business, Mason" the Mayor pointed out, startling when Thea got up, hurrying out of the room with tears running down her face. He looked from the phone to the door and let out a low curse, pulling out his phone, shooting Carol a quick text "You didn't see her. Whatever you did or didn't do to her… I think running away from you was the best thing she could have done."

"_What are you talking about?_"

With that, the older of the two Lockwoods explained everything he knew, keeping some things to himself but he wanted his brother to understand "Mason, it took you weeks to notice that she's gone. Weeks."

Mason snorted "_You're exaggerating. There's no way she's been with you for that long._"

"I'm not lying to you," Richard pointed out through gritted teeth "Thea… There's something she's not telling us either. I'm not sure what's going on but I have my suspicions. Hell, we all have but she won't talk." He sighed and muttered "Literally" under his breath.

"_Look, I don't know anything._"

Mystic Falls' Mayor scoffed "That much is obvious."

"_Mason?_" a woman's voice sounded in the background "_Are you coming?_"

"_Crap," _the younger of the two brothers cursed "_I have to go. Can you tell Thea to call me? I really think that we should talk about this._"

Richard grimaced. He thought that he was a bad parent occasionally but Mason really took the crown "That's not going to happen. Have fun with your life, Mason. Thea is happy here."

"_I'll believe that when I see it," _Mason shot back before hanging up.

* * *

After Thea had run out of the Town Hall, she blindly moved through the streets, tears blurring her eyes. It hurt… It hurt that her own father hadn't even noticed her missing. At first, she hadn't been sure whether he hadn't noticed or just didn't care. Both were as bad as the other but that didn't mean that it hurt any less. Mason was so oblivious that his own daughter had been gone for weeks before he had filed a report.

"Thea?" a familiar voice questioned, steadying her when she stumbled after running into what felt like a brick wall "Hey, what happened?"

The sixteen-year-old looked up at the raven-haired vampire, her shaky hands flying up to sign everything that happened.

Damon tilted his head, trying to keep track of the motions but quickly got lost "I – I have no idea what you just said."

'**Sorry,**' Thea signed, looking down at the ground. Her mind was repeating what happened just a few moments earlier as tears were still flowing down her cheeks.

"Come with me," Damon murmured, holding his hand out for the youngest Lockwood. After a few moments of consideration, Thea carefully placed her smaller hand in the vampire's bigger one. He lead her to the Grill and over to one of the booths in the back corner "I'll be right back," he murmured, waiting until the girl nodded. Damon walked over to the pool table where Stefan was currently having a conversation with Matt "Stefan? Can I borrow you for a moment?"

The younger Salvatore looked up in annoyance "What is it?"

Damon pointed over his shoulder at Thea, causing Stefan and Matt's attention to turn to the girl who had curled up into a small ball, her face buried in her knees "I think I need a translator."

"What happened?" Matt questioned, about to hurry over to his best friend's cousin.

"I don't know," Damon admitted "I have an idea but that's why I need Stefan. I can't keep up with her signing."

Stefan looked from his brother to the girl and back. He wasn't sure whether he liked that Damon had turned his attention to Thea. On one hand, it kept him away from Elena but on the other hand, he was pulling an innocent sixteen-year-old into their business… "I'll go and talk to her. You two stay here. The fewer people are around, the easier it might be for her." With that said, he walked over, sliding into the booth across from Thea "Hey."

'**Hi,**' Thea waved, her hands still shaking along with the rest of her body.

"Are you alright?" Stefan murmured "You know, he's probably going to kill me for saying this but… Damon is worried about you."

The sixteen-year-old looked up, glancing over the younger vampire's shoulder to see Damon glaring a hole into the back of his head '**I'm fine.**'

Stefan raised his eyebrow "Why don't I believe you?" he teased with a small smile "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it but both Damon and I are willing to listen if you ever do feel the need to tell someone."

Thea bit her lip '**My father noticed that I'm missing. Uncle Richard called him…**' She looked down at her hands for a moment before continuing '**I wasn't sure whether he didn't care or ****just didn't notice. Turns out I'm not important enough to notice. Not even by my own father.**'

"Don't," the vampire shook his head, reaching over to place his hand on the younger girl's arm "You are important and if your father can't see that then he's an idiot. From what I have seen your aunt and uncle care about you a lot. And not only them." He pulled back his hand and started signing '**Damon cares about you as well which is something I didn't expect. And I like you too, Thea. What I'm trying to say is that you have people here who care about you and want you to be happy. So what if your father doesn't? You're here now,**'

'**Thank you,**' Thea smiled shakily, wiping at her tears '**Thank you so much.**'

"You're welcome."


	7. Chapter 7

Against Thea's wishes, Tyler had convinced his cousin to come to school with him to help them set up for Career Day later in the day. Since the day Richard had called Mason, she hadn't left the house, opting to stay in her room most of the time. Both elder Lockwoods had practically begged their son to try and get his cousin out of the house for at least a little bit of time, even if he had to take her to school with him.

At the moment, Thea was sitting on the grass, watching Tyler and Matt play basketball. Her cousin shot the ball "So, what's up with you and Forbes?"

Matt rolled his eyes in annoyance "Nothing's up."

"I saw you two in the hall today," Tyler pointed out "Don't even try to deny it, bro. You're tapping that." Thea grimaced at his talk. She really didn't like how her cousin was acting with girls but at least he's somewhat respectful. It helped that he was more interested in helping Thea at the moment, rather than to try and sleep with everything that had a pulse and breasts.

"No, it's not like that," Matt denied, shaking his head.

Tyler smirked teasingly "Never is. Until you become 'we' people." He threw the ball and scored.

The blue-eyed boy raised his eyebrow, grabbing the ball from him "'We' people?"

"Yeah, 'we can't make it to the party.' 'We'll never miss a game.' 'We don't like the colour red,'" Tyler listed.

"We hung out… like, twice," Matt sighed, shooting the ball.

"Like I said," Tyler pointed out, catching the ball "'We.'" He turned his head to where Thea was watching them, looking more than a little bored and jogged over to her, the ball still in hand "Come on."

The sixteen-year-old looked at him in confusion that turned to shock when he handed her the ball. She shook her head, mouthing '**No**' to him.

Matt nudged her with a grin "Come on. You can't be that bad."

Thea raised her eyebrow challengingly before getting ready to throw the ball… nowhere near the actual hoop. Tyler snorted, while the blond boy ran to get the ball "That was spectacular. Weren't you good at sports when you came here as a kid?"

'**Not at basketball,**' Thea typed, showing him her phone '**I can't throw high enough.**'

"Might be because you're tiny," Matt teased, resting his arm on the youngest Lockwood's head. Thea wasn't that small. Not really but compared to the two guys, she was at least half a foot smaller "But really. You just need a better technique. Come here." He wrapped his arms around Thea from behind, noticing her stiffening a little. His hands covered hers on the ball "Go with your throw, lean into the motion."

When the ball hit the rim of the hoop, Thea grinned, whirling around to hug Matt tightly '**Thank you,**' she mouthed.

The blue-eyed boy laughed, ruffling her hair "You're welcome. Might as well try to enjoy yourself after Tyler dragged you here, right?" He leaned his head against hers "I'm glad you're better. Even if it's not a lot and if you want to talk, you know where to find me."

* * *

It was a couple of hours later when Tyler and Matt were both busy doing whatever they were doing that Thea caught sight of Damon talking to Caroline. The sixteen-year-old blinked in surprise. She had thought that Damon would stay away from the blonde after what he did but apparently, she was wrong.

"I need you to do something for me," Damon pointed out as he pulled Caroline away from the crowd. He was solely focussed on the blonde and as such didn't notice Thea inching closer from behind him.

Caroline made to argue but one look at Damon's face and she caved "Fine. What is it?"

"Here," the vampire handed over the vampire compass he had… acquired from Logan Fell "I need you to follow the compass." With those words – which were barely an explanation, he disappeared, leaving Caroline standing in the middle of the parking lot with a strange device in her hand.

Thea followed the blonde, making sure to keep her distance and keep out of sight. She watched as the Sheriff's daughter stopped by a warehouse in what – for her – appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Caroline pulled out her phone "So what do I do now?" she demanded. Thea tilted her head, watching from behind a tree "Can you hurry? I have things to do."

"You can give me that," Damon huffed, appearing behind the blonde.

Caroline hummed, handing it over "So, why did you need me to do this?"

"Because I interfere with the signal," the vampire pointed out impatiently.

"Can I go now?" the blonde questioned "This has blown, like, half of my day."

Damon caught her chin in his hand "You do that." He leaned forward, pressing car keys into her hand. The youngest Lockwood assumed that he had brought the car here, seeing as the two girls walked here "Get in your car. Go home. Forget I asked you to do this."

Caroline grinned at him "Okay. Bye now." She turned to leave as Damon turned to face the entrance of the warehouse. He walked up the steps and opened the door, glancing behind him with a small frown. There was something going on… He shook his head and slipped through the door, his mind back on Logan Fell.

* * *

Tyler looked around the corridor nervously. Career Day was in full swing but Thea seemed to be missing. He hadn't actually seen her since Matt and he tried to teach her how to play basketball. His eyes stopped on his father and he made a decision "Dad," he called out, causing the man to turn away from the Sheriff.

"Tyler," Richard blinked "Shouldn't you be looking around? Is everything alright?"

"Dad, I can't find Thea," the Mayor's son murmured "I haven't seen her for a couple of hours at least… And she's not answering her phone."

The Mayor paled, glancing over to Liz "So much for knowing where our kids are," he sighed, running a hand through his hair "Are you sure that she isn't here? This is important, Tyler."

"I – I don't know," the seventeen-year-old shrugged worriedly "I just – I would have seen her if she was. I asked around but no one has seen her. No one. What if something happened? It's not like she can call for help."

"We'll take care of this, Tyler," the elder Lockwood promised, nodding at Liz to inform her people about the situation "I'm sure she's alright." Inside, he wasn't so optimistic though. Thea knew what was out there and he was sure that she was able to protect herself but that didn't mean that she would be a match against a vampire. His stomach clenched in fear for his niece but he had to trust his instincts. If only for his own peace of mind "Go and look around. I'll tell you once I know something. I promise."

Tyler narrowed his eyes on his father. He had seen how much the man had changed since his cousin came to town. While his father had always cared about him, now it was just that bit more obvious and the boy wouldn't complain. He loved his family – even if Mason was on his black list at the moment "Alright."

* * *

Thea had watched the warehouse for a while, jumping whenever the faint sound of a gunshot echoed to where she was hiding. Had there been anything she could have done, she would have but she knew that she was no match for whoever the vampire was.

It took a long time until the door opened back up. She pressed back against the shadow of the tree, glancing out to see Logan Fell. He was a vampire? How? Thea hadn't seen the man since that first time after the party. She watched as the man grinned to himself, shaking his head. Logan climbed into his car, driving off without noticing her. Either Thea was good at hiding and masking her presence or – what seemed more likely – the vampires in this town were idiots who weren't able to notice humans nearby.

She waited for a moment longer, making sure the man was really gone before making her way into the warehouse. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard low cursing coming from further in "Thea?" Damon grimaced in pain "What are you doing here? You have to get out. Logan…"

'**He's gone,**' she signed slowly, making sure to mouth the words along with signing.

"If you're sure," he grunted, glaring at the gunshot wounds "Can you help me? I can't get those bullets out."

'**Me?**' Thea pointed to herself, eyes a little wider than normal.

The vampire raised his eyebrow at her "Do you see anyone else here? Please. I wouldn't ask if I could get them out."

The sixteen-year-old swallowed before nodding '**What do I do?**'

"Here," Damon murmured, taking one of her hands "Just dig in there for the bullet." When he saw her worried look, he smiled lightly "Don't worry about hurting me. Keeping them in would hurt me more."

'**Okay.**' Thea took a deep breath and started working on getting the wood out of Damon as quickly as possible, grimacing at the low noises of pain that escaped the vampire.

As soon as the last bullet dropped to the floor, the Salvatore sighed in relief "Thank you," he breathed, leaning his head back for the moment "How did you know I was here anyway?"

Thea grinned sheepishly '**Followed Caroline.**'

"Why would you do that?" Damon frowned.

'**Saw you with her. Was curious, I guess. Plus, I was bored.**'

The vampire snorted "You're a piece of work," he shook his head in amusement "Come on. I'll take you back to the Boarding House."

'**Thank you,**' the sixteen-year-old nodded, stepping closer to Damon when he beckoned her to. He pulled her onto his back easily before starting to run back to his house. Thea buried her face in the back of his neck, shielding herself against the wind whipping around her. She should have been uncomfortable with being this close to Damon – someone who was well known for sleeping around and even hurting Caroline but for some reason, Thea trusted him more than she could explain why. He could have hurt her more than once already but he didn't and that was good enough for now.

At the Boarding House, Damon didn't stop until he reached his room, plopping Thea down onto his bed "Sorry," he grinned, not sounding sorry at all when she glared up at him. The vampire watched as she looked around curiously "Like what you see?"

'**Comfortable,**' Thea signed, running her head over the soft blanket that was covering the bed.

"I need to call Stefan about Logan. Make yourself comfortable, alright?" Damon explained, gesturing to the bed with one hand while pulling out his phone with the other. He dialled Stefan's number before turning on the speaker "Logan Fell is a vampire," the older of the two brothers burst out when Stefan answered "And when I find him again, I'm gonna destroy him limb by limb."

Stefan inhaled sharply "What happened? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," Damon hissed, glaring at his reflection in the mirror. A glance to his bed revealed Thea listening to the call with a tilted head "I was ambushed. I was shot." He pulled off his shirt "I'm just glad that Thea got all the bullets out."

"Wait, Thea is with you?" Stefan questioned "They're all looking for her."

The older Salvatore turned around with a raised eyebrow, taking in the blush that coloured the sixteen-year-old's face as she looked everywhere but at him "You didn't tell anyone that you followed me?"

'**Oops?**'

Damon rolled his eyes "Where's your phone?" When Thea pulled it out of her pocket and glanced down, he sighed "Text them. Tell them that you're here…"

"Damon?" Stefan spoke up "Logan?"

"Oh, right," the older brother hummed "I'm vengeful… Just – Gotta find him."

Stefan sighed "There's no need. He's here at the school."

Damon gaped at the phone for a moment "You're kidding me. Why the hell is he there?"

"He's working the crowd."

"I'll be right there." With that, Damon ended the call, pulling a shirt over his head. Thea was still busy texting whoever it was that she texted "Did you tell them?"

The youngest Lockwood nodded '**Tyler says he'll come and pick me up here. ****Apparently, I'm in trouble and grounded…**'

"I can't say I'm surprised," the vampire noted. He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Thea's forehead "Thank you. I'm heading out to find Logan. Stay here until your cousin picks you up."

'**Be careful,**' she signed, watching him leave. Thea could still feel her forehead tingling where his lips brushed against her skin. What was going on? Hadn't she sworn that she wouldn't ever fall for anyone after… Well, him? But Damon just seemed to break through her barriers with barely any problem and he really seemed to care. They had only known each other for a short amount of time and she was too young for him anyway, so she didn't think there was a chance anyway. Even seventeen was too young compared to Damon's age. Her birthday might be next week but that probably still didn't change anything.


	8. Chapter 8

A few more months had passed since Thea helped Damon in the warehouse and the two of them had only gotten closer much to the dismay of Tyler. The other Lockwood really didn't want his cousin anywhere near the vampire. In his opinion, Damon was a bad influence and he would be damned if he just stood by and let the Salvatore hurt Thea.

The now seventeen-year-old girl was annoyed. More than annoyed actually. Tyler had been ranting and raving about how she should be staying away from Damon. That after what he did to Caroline, she wasn't safe with him. She loved that her cousin cared about her enough to be worried but she knew Damon by now and – yes – he might be an asshole sometimes but she still liked him. She liked standing time with the vampire.

She took the first chance she had to escape the house, stealing Tyler's car keys while she was at it. Almost as soon as she had turned seventeen, her uncle let her drive with Tyler's car whenever he wasn't using it. She had gotten her driver's license in Florida, so it wasn't like she didn't know how to drive.

"Well, that's not very nice," Thea heard Damon remark as soon as she entered the Grill. She snuck towards the vampire, knowing that he would be able to tell that she was there whether she was being quiet or not. It had become a bit of a habit for them though. Thea trying to sneak up on him and Damon just humouring her.

As soon as she was behind the vampire at the bar, she reached over his shoulder, plucking the sunglasses from his hands. Internally, she rolled her eyes at Kelly Donovan's attempt at flirting with Damon. Really, for Matt's sake, the seventeen-year-old had hoped that the woman had changed but no such luck apparently.

"Thea," Damon raised his eyebrows, reaching out to take his sunglasses back.

The girl danced out of his reach, sticking out her tongue at him '**Mine no****w.**'

Damon reached out to snag the girl's waist, pulling her closer to where he was sitting at the bar. He plopped them onto the girl's nose "There you go," he smiled lightly, shaking his head "They do look better on you."

'**You think?**' Thea snorted in amusement.

"Are you joining us?" the Salvatore asked, resting his head on the youngest Lockwood's shoulder.

Thea looked at Kelly who was looking at her in something akin to jealousy and a hint of recognition. Not that she cared, though. The woman really should be there for Matt instead of slumming around with every guy in town '**Do you mind?**'

"You know that I like having you around," Damon murmured, shifting a little on the barstool to accommodate Thea leaning against the stool between his legs. He waved at the bartender, ordering a coke for the seventeen-year-old before turning back to the woman next to him "You were saying something about being stood up."

Kelly nodded, snapping back into reality "Right, yeah. Last time I was in town I slept with her boyfriend."

"That's not very nice either," Damon remarked, smirking at Thea's noise of disgust.

"It happens," Matt's mother shrugged.

"Kelly?" a voice behind them called out in surprise "Kelly Donovan?"

The three turned around to see Jenna walking up to the bar. Kelly smiled happily "Jenna," she greeted, wrapping his arms around the redhead.

"I heard you were back in town," Elena's aunt remarked. She turned to Damon and Thea "She used to babysit me."

"And then I used to party with you," the Donovan added.

Damon rolled his eyes "Save me now," he breathed into Thea's ear. Thea grinned at him before patting him on the head in mock sympathy. He snapped at her hand playfully "Careful, dear. I bite," he teased.

'**I'd like to see you try,**' Thea challenged, leaning against his chest a little more. Their friendship was something that she more than enjoyed. For some reason, the vampire was extremely nice to her and – instead of being an ass like to everyone else – seemed to enjoy her company enough to learn sign language for her '**Actually… No. No, I wouldn't.**'

"Really?" the vampire pouted lightly "We could have a lot of fun, you know."

'**I'm sure,**' the youngest Lockwood nodded sagely before turning back to the older two women. Kelly had apparently convinced Jenna to join them since the redhead had taken a seat.

Jenna shook her head "This is not going to end well."

Damon sent her a grin "Can't wait."

"So," Jenna started, looking at the girl who was still practically on Damon's lap "You two seem close?"

Thea's eyes narrowed '**So what?**'

The red-haired woman blinked "Sorry?"

"She said 'So what'," Damon translated with a sigh "Look, I don't care who you are but my friendship with Thea is none of your business. Quite honestly, she needs someone to talk to other than her family." He looked down at the brown-haired girl "Have they given up on asking, by the way?"

Thea shook her head with a silent sigh '**No. And I don't know how long it'll take until they find out. I'm so sick of being scared, Damon.**'

"That's why you have me," he murmured, glancing up at the other end of the bar where his younger brother was standing "And Stefan. You can come to us with everything."

'**Thanks.**'

That was when Jenna looked into the direction that Damon had glanced in and groaned "Hide," she breathed, quickly turning back to face the bar "We're not here."

Kelly – who by now was more than a little buzzed – blinked "Why? Where'd we go?"

"Children under our care," Jenna pointed out "Five o'clock. This is not good."

Kelly turned her head to see them "Damn," she cursed, catching her son's gaze over the crowd of people.

When Thea finished her coke, she patted Damon's arm '**Can you let go? I wanna go say hi to Stefan and Matt.**'

"Do you have to?" the vampire pouted. The seventeen-year-old raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. Damon sighed at the look he was receiving before releasing Thea from the trap he called arms.

'**I'll be right back,**' she signed, skipping off towards the other two boys. Elena and Caroline had disappeared into the bathroom a few minutes earlier, so there was no real chance of her interrupting something at the moment.

"Thea," Matt smiled, seeing Tyler's little cousin walk up to them. He knew how much Tyler didn't like her hanging around the older Salvatore but then again… He had seen how much happier Thea was. She had started going out more and more and smiled more in general.

'**Matty,**' Thea grinned '**How is your… What is it? A double date going?**'

Stefan grimaced "I honestly don't know," he answered "I don't seem to be very good at this."

Matt snorted "That's because you're that guy."

"What guy?" the vampire blinked, hiding a grin when Thea jumped onto Matt's back. He had seen the two – or three with Tyler – together on quite a few occasions and they were really close. He was glad that Thea was making friends. Plus, she was good for Damon. The younger Salvatore had no idea what would have happened to Damon after the tomb incident if Thea hadn't been there and honestly? He was a bit scared to think about it. As it was, Damon went to talk to the youngest Lockwood, keeping to himself for a while. No destructive behaviour, no murder. At least nothing that would have jumped out at Stefan. Yes, whether he liked to admit it or not, Thea was good for Damon and he was good for her. There was something about the younger girl that didn't sit right with him. She was hiding something big.

Matt wrapped his arms around Thea's legs, adjusting his stance to accommodate her weight "The guy who seems like he has everything, so the people that don't… kind of run the other way."

"Is that what I seem like?" Stefan frowned.

"Pretty much," Matt shrugged.

Thea grinned at Stefan '**Dick.**'

Stefan gasped theatrically "Language."

"What?" Matt tilted his head.

"She just called me a dick," Stefan pointed out before throwing a wounded look at the girl clinging to Matt "You hurt my feelings, Thea. That's not very nice."

'**Get over it,**' she waved her hand dismissively before jumping off Matt's back when she saw Elena and Caroline making their way back towards them '**I'm going to let you get back to your double date. Have fun. And don't be a dick, Stefan.**'

"I feel like you're talking to the wrong brother," he grumbled.

'**Am I?**' Thea smirked '**Am I really?**'

Stefan huffed, swatting at her head lightly "Go and annoy Damon, brat."

'**Gladly.**'

As she was walking away, she heard Matt say "I'm surprised that you got this close to her. I think apart from you and your brother she only really talks to Tyler and me. And her aunt and uncle of course…"

Thea stumbled when she ran into a dark-haired man '**Sorry,**' she mouthed apologetically, hurrying away from him. He made her a little uncomfortable with the way he had been staring down at her. But it was probably nothing. She was paranoid and she knew it, so she pushed it out of her mind, rejoining Damon at the bar '**What did I miss?**'

"I think Jenna is drunk," Damon pointed out with a small grin as Stefan left with Matt, Caroline and Elena in tow.

Thea looked at the older woman in slight concern '**Can you call a cab or something? I'll bring her out and go home then****. She looks like she had more than enough anyway.**'

"Hm," Damon hummed "Jenna, do you want me to call you a cab?"

The red-haired woman looked at the vampire "You would do that?" she slurred.

"Sure," Damon nodded "Thea will wait with you outside."

Thea nodded and gestured for her to come along "Thanks." Jenna turned to wave at Damon and Kelly clumsily "See you, guys."

The two of them walked out with Thea keeping an eye on the older woman. She didn't like people drinking more than she should but then again… From what she had seen, Jenna was actually a good guardian to Elena and her younger brother. Considering the circumstances and the fact that she was as old as her own father who had taken a turn for the worse after meeting Kathy.

"Crap," Jenna cursed, snapping Thea out of her thoughts. So much for keeping an eye on her…

The man Thea had run into earlier walked up to them "Need some help?" he offered.

"Damn it," Jenna huffed, steadying herself on the seventeen-year-old's shoulder "Stupid shoe."

Frederick gestured for her foot "Pick up your other foot," he gestured, breaking the other heels after the woman did as he told "Here you go."

"Thanks," Jenna mumbled "I think."

"Was that Damon Salvatore you were with?" the man asked.

Jenna nodded, somewhat loopy "The one and only. You know him?"

Thea's eyes narrowed on the man. There was something wrong with him. Her gut feeling had been right after all. Why was he so interested in Damon? Frederick caught the girl's gaze, eyes darkening when he smelt the vampire on her. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. Both Salvatores seemed to care for the girl… "We go way back," he explained "He still lives out by Miller Lane?"

Jenna shook her head "He lives in the old Boarding House by the Wickery Bridge." She gestured over her shoulder at the Grill "He's still in there if you want to say hi." Thea tugged at the older woman's sleeve, gesturing for her to go "In a second, Thea."

The seventeen-year-old shook her head insistingly '**Come on,**' she mouthed slow enough for the woman to understand. Sometimes it really sucked that she didn't talk but a large part of her still thought that she was better off. No one wanted to hear what she had to say anyway. Well, no one but Damon that was '**Cab.**' The girl gestured to the car that had just pulled up for Jenna to take her home.

Jenna turned back to Frederick, giving him a small smile "That's my cab… so… Bye." She walked off with Thea right behind her since the cab was close to where she had parked her… Alright, Tyler's car "Thanks, Thea. You didn't have to come with me." Thea shrugged and waved as Jenna slid into the backseat, giving the driver her address.

As soon as the car pulled away, the seventeen-year-old turned towards her car. She threw a subtle glance over her shoulder only to see that a woman had joined Frederick and they were both watching her.

* * *

Tyler was worried. There, he said it. He was worried about his little cousin. Thea had gone into town earlier today and still wasn't back. That in itself wasn't unusual but the fact that her phone was turned off and she was unreachable – was.

The first thing, Tyler had done was to alert his parents of the fact that he couldn't reach Thea. They told him not to worry, though. After all, the boy had annoyed his cousin beyond what he should have and it was possible that she was just taking a much-needed break from him and his opinions.

Neither Carol nor Richard minded the fact that their niece was hanging out with Damon more than strictly necessary. Even if they had something against it, they could see how much happier and open Thea had been in the fast few weeks since the two started hanging out. The elder Lockwoods still kept an eye on the girl to make sure that she was safe with the older man but other than that, they left her be. Not like Tyler who thought that he had to protect her from someone that she couldn't predict. He had noticed what happened to Caroline while she was dating the older man and he didn't want the same thing to happen to his cousin.

Another half an hour later and he had enough. He grabbed the keys to the other car, heading out towards the woods.

"Where is she?" he asked, trying to look past the man in the doorway.

Damon frowned at Thea's cousin in confusion, stepping to the side "Where is who?"

"Thea," Tyler pointed out, practically storming into the house.

"I haven't seen her since she volunteered to get Jenna to her cab," the vampire explained "I thought she went home."

Tyler sank down on one of the couches "Well, she didn't," he shot back "And I can't reach her on her phone." He looked up at the older man warily "What if something happened? I'm worried and there is nothing I can do."

"Maybe it's nothing," Damon said even though he started to worry too. In the time he had known Thea, she was never unreachable. Partially, since she used her phone to communicate when she couldn't use sign language or write it down.

"What's going on here?" Stefan questioned, walking down the stairs. He had heard the doorbell go and changed out of his bloody shirt. Why the tomb vampires had to attack them now of all times, he had no idea and frankly? He was aa bit annoyed as well.

Damon ran a hand through his hair "Tyler here was asking whether we have seen Thea around."

"Not since the Grill earlier," Stefan shook his head "Sorry."

"It's fine," the boy muttered "I'll just – I'll just go and ask the others. She's got to be somewhere."

Stefan stopped the Lockwood before he was out the door "We'll keep an eye out, alright?"

"Thanks," Tyler nodded with a small smile. Maybe the two weren't as bad as he thought but those thoughts could wait. Thea was more important.

* * *

Damon looked over his shoulder at Stefan, working on fixing a clock. He was more than a little worried about the visit the two brothers had gotten earlier "Hunting party?" the older Salvatore asked, seeing his brother's outfit.

Stefan nodded "That guy did a number on me earlier when he stabbed me. I gotta get my strength back and I thought I'd look through the woods. Maybe Thea is there…"

"Call me if you find her," Damon murmured "I'm heading out as well. I don't…"

"We'll find her, Damon," the younger of the two murmured "And we can talk after we get her back, alright? There are a few things that I think we really need to address."

Damon dropped his arms from the clock "Alright," he nodded before a small grin stole its way across his face "Give me regards the squirrels."

Stefan rolled his eyes, heading out into the rain. He wasn't much of a fan of the weather but sadly beggars couldn't be choosers and if he wanted blood, he had to go out.

He was a little way into the woods, just looking for some prey when he froze. The tomb vampires were surrounding him from all sides. He was about to react in some way when Frederick appeared in front of him, stabbing him with a wooden stake "Aah," he gasped, collapsing to the ground. A few more well-aimed stabs and he was out.

The group of tomb vampires dragged him along to the house they were staying in, throwing him in the basement for now. They would deal with him later when he was more fun to be around. It was a little boring to try and torture someone who was already out.

It didn't take long until Stefan groaned, stirring. His eyes blinked open, trying to get rid of the dizziness that washed through him. He gasped when his eyes fell on the last person he had been expecting here. It made sense though… That no one knew where she had gotten to "Thea," he called out, worried when the girl didn't respond to his voice. She was covered in bruises and cuts, looking worse for the wear.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright, there are discussions of past rape in here. If you don't like it, then please don't read it. It's not discussed by name but it's still in here and very obvious. At the moment, it's mostly how the characters deal with finding out but… There will be more hints of it in the next chapter or chapters. Again, I don't do graphic much, so there won't ever be a scene but if you're uncomfortable with it, then please don't read it.**

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

Elena glanced down at her phone in annoyance, pressing the call away. She would have thought that Damon would have gotten the hint the first five times but apparently not.

"You're ignoring me," Damon narrowed his eyes as soon as the door was open. He pushed into the house, brushing back his wet hair. As if he didn't have enough problems already with Thea still missing. Now, Stefan was nowhere to be found either.

"The six missed calls?" the Doppelgänger asked, crossing her arms "Sorry. My phone is dead."

The vampire gritted his teeth in annoyance "Is Stefan here?"

This made Elena straighten up "No. Why? Something wrong?"

"He went out in the woods and didn't come back," Damon pointed out "I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you."

Elena pressed a few buttons on her phone, completely forgetting about her previous lie in her worry "It's going straight to voice-mail," she murmured, lowering the device "Where could he be?"

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking," Damon mumbled, clenching his hands into fists. He whirled around, stalking back out of the house with Elena scampering after him. Typical. First she didn't want anything to do with him and now that Saint Stefan was in danger, she ran after him like a lost puppy. The older Salvatore sighed internally. It had been so much easier when they had no idea that a Katherine look-alike was running around. Then again, he wouldn't have met Thea if he hadn't followed Stefan here, so maybe some good things had come from it…

* * *

Damon stormed up to the door, banging on the door. He had barely gotten Elena to stay at the car. In the end, he had just stomped off after practically growling at her to stay where she was "Pearl," he shouted "Open this door. I swear to God I'll bust through and rip your head off."

"Pearl's not home," Frederick pointed out, leaning against the open door. He looked at the sky that was still overcast with rain "Hmm. Beautiful weather. Not a ray of sun in the sky." The vampire wondered how much Damon knew about what they were doing. Oh well, he would find out… Maybe.

"Where's my brother?" the older Salvatore demanded, glaring at the man in front of him.

Frederick smirked and glanced over his shoulder "Billy." Two of his friends dragged Stefan into the hallway, holding the younger vampire up.

"You're dead," Damon whispered, staring at his younger brother. He surged forward, intent on ripping each and every one of them apart.

"Whoa," Frederick laughed when Damon was stopped by the invisible barrier "I'm sorry. You haven't been invited it. Miss Gibbons?"

An older woman with more than a few bite marks littering her body, came up to him "Yes, Frederick, honey?"

The vampire grabbed her shoulder, pointing to Damon "Never let this bad man in."

"I'll never let him in," the woman parroted.

"Ugh," Stefan let out. He wanted to warn Damon, tell him that they had Thea, that she was hurt but he couldn't get the words out.

Frederick crossed his arms, glaring from one Salvatore to the other "145 years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother. First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person man. Well… I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I kill him."

"Damon," Stefan called out, his voice weaker than he would have liked "They have…"

"Billy," Frederick snapped, causing the vampire in question to stab Stefan in the stomach with a stake.

Stefan's legs gave out on him "Urgh. Ah," he grimaced, getting dragged off to the basement again.

"You have a nice day," Frederick smiled at Damon, closing the door in his face.

* * *

Tyler was walked up the stairs to Thea's room. He had looked everywhere he could think of. His cousin was just gone. He just hoped that Damon and Stefan had more luck in finding her. If something happened to his cousin, he would never forgive himself.

Thea's room was just like she left it and normally he wouldn't come in here without her permission but maybe he would find some sort of clue here. She might have just decided to leave for some reason, even if he doubted that. Thea wasn't the type of person to leave everything behind. Not without a damn good reason anyway.

Tyler looked around, seeing a notebook open on the desk. He walked over, glancing at the page. When he realized what he was looking at, he wanted to look. He really did but the word that caught his attention made him freeze. His eyes flitted over the page of the diary and the more he read, the more it felt like someone was squeezing his insides. No… This couldn't have happened to his cousin. Mason would have noticed, right? Tyler grabbed the book, leafing through it some more. He had no doubt that Thea would kill him for going through her diary like this but he just had to know what happened to her.

"Tyler?" a voice from the doorway made him jump.

"Mom," he rasped, looking up at the woman with tears in his eyes.

Carol looked at her son with worry shining in her eyes. Her gaze caught the book in his hands and she frowned "What are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to know if I could find out something… Some other place, I haven't checked yet," Tyler admitted "I… I didn't want to read it, mom. I swear."

"What…" the Lockwood matriarch cleared her throat. She was worried about her niece as well. When she hadn't come back, they had called Liz instantly. The Sheriff had promised to look for Thea but… So far there hadn't been any news and it got to all of them "Tyler, is that her diary?"

"Yes, but…"

Carol cut her son off "No buts. I've taught you better than that, Tyler."

"Mom," Tyler interrupted before she could go into a whole rant about personal privacy "Look." He shoved the diary at his mother, tapping the page where the dreaded words were written in Thea's neat handwriting.

Carol stiffened. They had suspicions that Thea might have been hurt in one way or another but this? This was worse than what she and Richard ever thought. She could understand why Thea didn't want to talk about it… Or talk in general. The fact a friend of her own father couldn't stop himself from violating a child was more than enough reason for anyone to snap. Carol just wondered whether Thea had tried to talk to Mason about this "This is… Oh, God."

"I know," Tyler nodded. He hated seeing his mother so shaken but at least, they would be able to help Thea more now "I – I read a little about what she wrote about Damon." He shifted "I have to apologize to both of them. After we find Thea, that is. Do you think she's alright?"

Carol sighed, running a hand through her hair. She couldn't help but think that something happened to Thea. That she had gotten involved in the drama that's based around the vampire who had come to town. If anything happened to her… Carol didn't know what she would do then. The vampires were the job of the council but… Having their families get hurt was the worst thing that could happen as a member "I don't know, dear. I really don't. But I know that I'm worried."

* * *

Thea squinted up at the men standing around her. She was hurting all over but that wasn't something she cared much about. It wasn't the first time, after all. No, they were hurting one of her friends and that was something she hated more than anything else.

The tomb vampires were tying Stefan up with vervain-soaked ropes "Vervain on the ropes," Frederick remarked, looking at Stefan through cold dark eyes. When the younger vampire hissed in pain, he grimaced in fake sympathy "That's gotta sting. Speaking of…" He pulled out an eye dropped with vervain in it and pressed a few drops into Stefan's eyes.

Thea scrambled over to Stefan, wanting to see whether he was alright since she couldn't cry out for him. Before she could reach him, though, a hand grabbed her hair, pulling her up. Frederick wrapped his forearm around the girl's throat, pressing her against him as Stefan screamed in pain.

"This isn't right," Harper shouted, entering the room. He took in the scene and let out a shaky breath when he caught sight of the girl. The very human girl who had done nothing wrong.

Frederick glared at the other vampire "He killed Beth-Anne. One of us, Harper. Don't think for a second he wouldn't kill you if he had the chance. Pearl says we're not here for revenge, right? I say that's exactly what we're here for. Starting with this." The vampire pulled Thea to a table, picking up a hunting knife, careful to only touch the handle "What do you think, Stefan? I'm sure your little friend could use a few new… designs."

"Leave her alone," Stefan told them gruffly "She didn't do anything to you."

"Hm," Frederick hummed "She is close to you and your brother. That is enough for me."

He went to press the knife against Thea's cheek when Stefan started fighting against the ropes, ignoring the burn that surged through the wounds. He had to get the attention off Thea somehow. They hurt her enough already "So, you're mad at Damon and me because you were stupid?" When the man stopped in his tracks, he continued "After all, you guys let yourselves be caught by some humans. A bit embarrassing really, isn't it?"

Frederick threw Thea to the ground, not caring that her head hit the ground with a too loud thud and threw a hard punch at Stefan's face. The younger of the two Salvatores let out a groan, his head falling forward. Frederick tightened his grip on the knife "Tie the girl up and make sure that she can't get out."

"This isn't right," Harper repeated, grabbing the other man's arm in a tight grip. He had never been the best fighter, so there wasn't much he could actually do against all of the others but that didn't mean that he wouldn't try.

Harper licked his lips "Miss Pearl will be home soon."

"Miss Pearl is no longer in charge," Frederick hissed, ripping his arm away. He glanced to some of the others "Tie him up as well. And then stake him down."

* * *

"Are you absolutely sure that it's…" Mayor Lockwood trailed off, shaking his head. He couldn't believe what his son had told him. The thought that someone hurt his niece this badly right under her werewolf father's nose. The thought alone made him want to hurt the person who hurt her. Thea was as good as his daughter now and having something like this happen to someone you cared about was the worst feeling ever. To know that they had no choice and were hurt by someone… He shook his head, opening the door to the Grill. Both Lockwood men had been out to look for Thea again when it had started raining again, so they decided it would be best to take a break for now.

"I'm more than sure, dad," Tyler sighed "Why would she write it if it wasn't true? You know Thea. She wouldn't do that."

"I know," Richard murmured "I just wish that she didn't have to go through that." He looked up to see a woman and a girl about to walk past them "Hey, you're not going out in that, are you? The roads are dangerous. Route 5 is completely flooded."

Pearl smiled at the man tightly "We'll make do."

"Mayor Lockwood, we have your table ready," a waitress called, waving the two men over.

Tyler's expression lit up a little at the thought of food "Great."

"Mayor… Lockwood, is it?" Pearl repeated, her smile changing to charming "I suppose it is treacherous outside. My name is Pearl."

Richard looked at her in surprise at her change of tone but shrugged internally "Hi."

"This is my daughter Anna," the vampire introduced "We've just recently moved to town."

"Welcome," Richard nodded, falling into his role as the Mayor "Richard Lockwood. This is my son Tyler." He gestured to their table "You're welcome to join us if you want?"

Peal tilted her head in consideration "It would be a pleasure."

Tyler rolled his eyes at his father "Can't you leave the Mayor at the office for once, dad? Thea is still missing and we have no lead, nothing. It's as if she just disappeared last night."

"Tyler," Richard sighed "I know that. And you know that I'm worried. But there's nothing we can do from here. No one has seen her. The only thing we know is that her car is still here. Don't you think I want her found?"

The boy closed his eyes and dropped his head "Sorry, dad. I'm just…"

Richard squeezed his son's shoulder "I know, Tyler. I know. Why don't you go and shoot some pool? Distract yourself for a bit? I'm sure it'll do you some good. I know how much you hate being around when I discuss work."

* * *

Alaric looked at the house before knocking on the door a little frantically. He wasn't happy that he was here but… If Damon knew about Isobel… He just had to try "Oh, good," he breathed out when the door was answered "Someone's home. Uh, could I use your phone? My car broke down a few miles up the road. This was the first house I saw."

Frederick looked at him for a moment before stepping to the side "Well, lucky you."

"Yeah," Alaric murmured, trying not to grimace "Lucky me. It's no trouble, is it?"

"Not in the slightest," the vampire gave back.

"Great. Whew." the History teacher stepped into the house, rubbing at his freezing hands "Hey, man, I really appreciate it. It's rough out there."

Frederick stuck his head into the living room "Billy, show our visitor where the phone is in the kitchen. And get me something to drink."

"Yeah," Billy nodded "Sure thing." He gestured for Alaric to follow him "Hey, Miss Gibbons, this guys wants to use your phone."

Miss Gibbons looked up with a smile "Oh, sure, honey. It's right there."

"Thanks," Alaric replied, walking towards the phone. He heard movement behind him and sidestepped the stake that was aimed for his heart, grabbing it to stab Billy with it in one smooth motion. As soon as the vampire was on the ground, he quickly turned on the faucet and started the blender to create as much noise as possible.

Miss Gibbons stared at the scene with wide eyes "What's happening?"

"I'm really sorry," Alaric murmured, pulling the woman to the back door "But you're gonna need to invite a friend of mine inside." He opened the door, revealing Damon.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the older woman shook her head "He's not allowed in the house."

The History teacher glanced over his shoulder, hoping that the vampires inside didn't notice anything unusual "I know that. But you've gotta make an exception."

"Get her out of the house," Damon hissed. He grabbed the woman as soon as she was within reach "Now. Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?"

"No."

"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?"

"No," the woman shook her head "It's just me."

Damon let out a small smirk "No? Good." He quickly broke her neck and entered the house.

Alaric flinched at the sound and stared at the body on the porch "You were supposed to compel her."

"It doesn't work that way," the older Salvatore shot back.

"She's human."

"And I'm not," Damon rolled his eyes "So, I don't care. Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body." He waited until Alaric was out of sight before creeping closer to the living room.

"Billy," Frederick shouted from the other room, his tone holding annoyance "What's the holdup?" He gestured for another vampire to go and see what was going on. The vampire in question made his way to the kitchen, turning off the sink and the blender. He hesitatingly approached the pantry, startling when Damon opened the door and staked him "Billy, Jacob, get back in here."

Damon rolled his eyes at the idiot and went to look for Stefan. What he didn't except – but maybe should have – was that Elena was slowly creeping towards one of the tomb vampires guarding the door. He flashed towards him, staking him before whirling around to face the Doppelgänger "Are you insane?"

"I wanted to help, Damon," Elena shot back "I know I can help."

The older Salvatore groaned "Fine. I guess you're already here anyway… Come on, then. But stay behind me, alright?"

"Fine."

Downstairs, they could see Stefan hanging from the ropes, almost out of it "Elena…" the younger of the two brothers whispered "You shouldn't be here."

"She was supposed to stay in the car," Damon grumbled, readying the stake to kill Harper.

Stefan let out a groan of protest "No. No. No. Not him."

"Whatever," Damon shook his head "Let's get you down."

"There's vervain on the ropes," Stefan explain just as Damon pulled his hand back with a low curse.

"Elena, pull that." Damon caught his brother as his legs gave out under him "Alright, let's go. Clothes on."

Stefan struggled against his brother's grip "Wait. Thea."

"Stefan… We have to get…" Damon froze as the word registered "What did you just say?"

"Thea's here," Stefan said, leaning against Elena more heavily when his older brother let go of him "They hurt her, Damon."

"Where is she?" Damon demanded.

Harper was the one who nodded his head to the side "Behind that table. I haven't heard her move sine Frederick threw her to the ground. I think she hit her head pretty badly."

Damon hurried behind the table, immediately crouching down next to his… next to Thea. From his place, he could hear Harper groan as the other two pulled out the stakes that were holding him to the chair. Thea was unconscious, tied up enough so that her hands were slowly turning blue from the lack of circulation. There was also blood smeared on her forehead from where she had hit the ground. He quickly ripped the binds and propped Thea up against his chest "Come on," he whispered, running a hand through the Lockwood's tangled hair. When she didn't react at all, he panicked a little. Damon wasn't sure how badly she was hurt "Please. I need to know that you're alright."

"Damon," Elena called out "We have to get out of here."

"Can you get Stefan into the car, Elena?"

The Doppelgänger hummed "Yeah."

"Alright, go." Damon bit into his wrist as the others left, holding the bleeding appendage to Thea's mouth. Just in case, he told himself as he urged the girl to drink a little before scooping her up in his arms. Upstairs, he carefully put her down to the ground, making sure that she was hidden before going to distract the vampires who were still in the house. The older Salvatore snuck into the dining room, catching Frederick unaware "I'm going to make you pay for what you did," he hissed, punching the vampire until he was on the ground. Even then, he didn't stop until two others came up behind him, pulling him away from the man on the ground. Frederick got up and ran out of the house as Damon started to fight the other two vampires. He whirled around when he heard a thud from behind.

"Aren't you glad that I didn't leave?" Alaric asked sarcastically.

Damon grunted, shoving a stake in the remaining vampire before looking from the door to where he had hidden Thea. He wanted to go after Frederick so badly but Thea was more important right now "Wait here."

Alaric reloaded his dart gun, as a vampire attacked him from the side. They both wrestled until Alaric was able to stab him with a vervain syringe. He had just gotten up when Damon came back with Thea in his arms "What happened?" the History teacher gasped, hurrying to the vampire's side.

"They had her," Damon muttered through clenched teeth. While he liked the feeling of Thea in his arms, he would have liked it more if she didn't have healing wounds all over her body "We were all looking for her and they had her since last night."

Alaric looked at the unconscious girl. He didn't know her too well since she didn't go to the school but he had seen her at the Grill fairly often and even more with either Damon or Stefan around "Let's get out of here."

"I'm going to kill him," Damon threatened, thinking about all the ways he could make Frederick pay for what he did. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the group of vampires surrounding the house. His grip on Thea tightened "How many of those vervain darts do you have left?"

Alaric looked down "One."

"Not gonna be enough," Damon sighed.

"So, what you said to get me to do this," Alaric spoke up "About my wife. It was a lie, wasn't it?"

Damon glanced at him somewhat apologetically "Yep."

"Stop," Pearl demanded, striding through the vampires and to the porch "What's going on here?" She turned to Damon and glared "What did you do?"

"Me?" Damon scoffed, adjusting his grip on the girl he was holding. His small motion drew Pearl's attention to her "Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother and the Mayor's niece."

Pearl swallowed as she watched the girl she knew was human. This shouldn't have happened. She could care less about what they did to the Salvatores as long as they didn't go overboard but… To torture an innocent girl? Frederick definitely went to far this time "Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with."

"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them," Damon pointed out.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Pearl murmured.

Damon snorted "Well, it did. If you can't keep them under control, I might just slip what happened to the Mayor. I'm sure he would be really interested in the nest of vampires lurking around Mystic Falls." With that, he nodded to Alaric and the two of them left.


End file.
